The Internal Dynamics
by ZGreening72
Summary: Kagome begins to tire of InuYasha's indecisive actions and late night visits. Their fight against Naraku still stands, but the fights that happen internally are beginning to become more significant as time passes. After a chance meeting with the Lord of the Western lands, something changes... but what?
1. This is not for you

CHAPTER 1:  
The morning sun shone brightly down on the small village, illuminating the small drops of morning dew clinging with futile desperate hope to the vegetation. It was only just past dawn, the soft song of swallows still ringing through the branches of the forest. A rare serenity that spoke of silence and peace lingering that surely would never break- -

"INUYASHA YOU STUPID JERK! SIT!"

The earth groaned and broke as a familiar being with long white hair collapsed forward, aforementioned swallows taking to the air to escape the unknown predators. A moan of agony emitting from the body clothed in red fire rat fur graced the ears of a demon slayer, monk, demon cat, young fox demon and a very pissed off priestess.

"That's it, you ungrateful dog! I'm sick and tired of hearing your whining about my cooking- if you can't handle it, then DON'T EAT! SEE IF I CARE!" Kagome's blue eyes flashed wildly with unconcealed rage.  
The said miko had decided to wake up significantly earlier than she normally did to create a big breakfast as to start off the day on a good note; sure that their travels would bring on a familiar exhaustion she felt daily since discovering the Senjoku period four years prior. Normally high schoolers in her time were not off tramping all over feudal Japan and instead spent a lot of their day in school, sitting and furthering education.

Kagome turned on heel and marched over to her well-used big yellow back pack, furiously shoving her items into it, a low scowl set across her pretty, young features. She had worn her high school uniform to the feudal era the last time she'd left; having just returned home from school. Her hips adorned a grey, black and red plaid skirt that ended mid-thigh and she wore a grey wool cardigan over a white button-up collared shirt with a with crimson ribbon encircling her neck.

"I'm going home; and don't you DARE complain about it, InuYasha. I need to catch up on some school work and take a MUCH needed break away from YOU," she snarled, not once looking back at the red hanyou.

"Take your time Kagome, we'll be here when you're finished," Sango smiled gently at the young girl. She was but a few years older than her dear friend, thus also being a woman, she understood the young girl's irritation. She also had noticed Kagome periodically sneaking away from them to 'take walks' or 'find food' and return with nothing. Sango had no doubts in her mind what was causing the increased reactions from the miko; even on a good day InuYasha's selfishness would've irritated her. After all, everything would've been fine if he could've been civil and recognize the effort the young lady had put into making a big elaborate breakfast for everyone, all he'd needed to do was say thanks and shut his big fanged mouth. Instead, he chose to act as selfishly and ignorant as most young males, and simply complain that he didn't like what she'd made as much as his 'ninja food' and that she shouldn't have bothered.  
Kagome probably would've gotten over it fine if it had stopped there, but as the Inutachi knew, InuYasha's idiocy tended to know no bounds, and he continued to assault the young miko's confidence by stating each and every single thing he could find 'wrong' about the meal or what could've been made 'better' than it was. Too salty, too sweet, bad texture… The inu's distastefulness had been his own downfall.

Kagome straightened and stood up as she slung the heavy bag over her shoulder,  
"Thanks Sango, I know time flows differently here than in my own, so I hope I'm not gone very long."

"Would you like to take Kirara with you?" Miroku came to stand beside his destined woman; a friendly smirk curved his lips softly across his face. Kagome thought about it for a moment, then shook her head,

"Naw, I'll walk off some frustration. We aren't too, too, far from the well. Plus, if I were to take her, I would probably get home still angry and someone else would pay **this** idiot's price," she spoke softly, nodding her head towards said idiot who was just climbing to his feet, his eyebrows sharply angled down.

"Maybe you'll walk off some of your shitty attitude as well if we're lucky,"

Shippou sighed heavily beside the tree he'd been as the whole situation played out,  
"InuYasha, you can be **soooooo** stupid sometimes,"

"Shut up, brat! I wasn't talkin' to you now, was I!"

Miroku and Sango looked upon the half demon, both similarly portraying unimpressed expressions. The miko's hand tightened almost painfully on the strap she was holding, her anger flaring to life once more,  
"You… Are… Such a… Such a…" her fury-fogged mind attempted to supply names, but none of them seemed strong enough to express her feelings,  
"JERK! SCREW YOU!"

Her black hair flicked silently over her shoulder, the hem of her grey plaid skirt dancing around her creamy thighs as she turned and started towards the path they'd come from the previous night.  
The hanyou's golden eyes narrowed, his cheeks flushing,  
"Well it takes one to know one!"

"**SIT!**" Her angry voice exploded back into the clearing, closely followed by another earth-breaking thud and cry of anger and pain.

Sango huffed heavily and closed her deep brown eyes, scowling with obvious irritation; sometimes she pitied the young priestess having to put up with the brunt of the half demon's immature attitude.  
Miroku sighed, his hands rose while he shook his head, softly speaking to everyone in general,  
"You'd think he'd learn sometimes… Alas, the outcome has turned out the same. A mad young maiden, time travelling back to the future while a bad-tempered idiot lays out across the ground."

"Hey, Kagome! I'm not done talkin' to you! Get back here! HEY! KAGOME! **KAGOOOMEEE!**"

Kagome growled, mumbling to herself as she made her way through the forest paths. Sometimes that idiot's immaturity surpassed even the level she thought it capable of,  
"Sometimes I wonder… Ooouu I should just march right back there and sit him to the center of the Earth!"

She had been wondering for some time now, barely paying attention to where she was walking as she fumed in her head about the hanyou. It would take another half a day to get back to InuYasha's forest, so she wasn't too concerned about it.  
_How dare he criticise me and my food… And __**I**__ will go home when I __**WISH**__ to! _Kagome growled in her mind, her blue eyes portraying the irritation she so obviously felt, _Yeah! As if I haven't noticed him taking off in the middle of the night to see a __**certain someone**__. We all know of YOUR little escapades to miss miko of the dead._  
Her brown loafers that had previously been methodically thumping at a quick pace finally began to slow. From underneath blue-black bangs, the young girl stopped to survey her surroundings, going so far as to turn in a complete circle as she attempted to get her barings.  
_Perfect, first breakfast and now this… Where the hell am I? _Her minds voice rang out internally as she blinked again; ceasing her spinning, her soft locks coming to rest on her small rounded shoulders.  
_I… I _think _I recognise this place… I think I know that tree and rock… Or maybe that pile of bushes over there…  
_"Dammit… Yup, I'm lost," she sighed, finally conceding to the obvious, "Well… I guess I'll just keep going, the next village I come upon should at least be able to direct me."

Night soon began to descend on Kagome; she wouldn't allow herself to think of the fact that she was still in the forest, only armed with a bow, a quiver of arrows, and the few limited supplies she had stuffed into her pack. Yes, a box of tampons would work SO well against a demon. Maybe if only to absorb the saliva dripping from it's mouth at the thought of eating her flesh-  
"GAH! Stop stop stop stop STOP! Stop thinking, Kagome!" she scolded herself, closing her eyes as she thunked her head with tightly wrapped fist as if the motion itself could dislodge the many thoughts of her impending condemnation.

"Thinking stuff like that is NOT conducive to finding your way home, just… keep walking!" the miko tried to spur herself on.

Convincing herself to not think of the dangers surrounding her became harder and harder as twilight surrounded her, caressing her soft skin with fingers of cold. Kagome shivered, suddenly wishing she hadn't left her sleeping bag with Shippou and Kirara, at least then she could have something to wrap around her shoulders.  
The miko let out a slight gasp as a branch bypassed her grip and swung towards her, nicking her cheek for the twentieth time that day. She held back a growl of annoyance; she was completely covered with cuts and scratches on her legs, arms, neck and face. What was one more, really.

A loud crack rang in her ears like a gunshot, her blood instantly running cold. Wide blue eyes glanced off to the side, her body froze momentarily as she began to mentally make a battle plan. Kagome suddenly didn't feel as brave as normal on her own, in the forest, in the darkness of coming-night. Her human sight was not nearly as good as the two demons and one hanyou she traveled with. Her scent wasn't either. She also couldn't help but compare her hand-to-hand skills and demon knowledge to that of her sister-like best friend and taijiya; or the ability of using sutras like the houshi.

Kagome almost shook her head, forcing her mind to push aside the issues that didn't require immediate attention, like her fear. She unslung the bow from her shoulder with one hand crossed over her chest, the second reaching to remove an arrow as silently as she could. At least she was a much, MUCH better shot than she had been when she'd been thrown into this new reality four years ago.

Steeling herself against whatever she thought was about to come through the vegetation to her left, she notched and arrow, prepared to draw.  
What she had thought would pop through the bushes was so far from what actually did that the miko dropped to her knees noisily as a young girl in an orange and yellow yukata popped her head onto the path.

"…Kagome? Kagome, is that you?" Rin inquired, her brown eyes widening with a smile, "It IS! It is you, Kagome!"

Kagome could only let out a shaky laugh as the young girl lurched forward and ran to embrace her. Her blood pounding so hard she could feel it thudding against the restraint of her veins and arteries, screaming for release. The adrenaline coursing strong through her body would soon wear her out, but all Kagome could think of was that because the girl was there, she was safe as well. Sesshoumaru would never let harm come to his ward.

"Come on, Kagome! Rin is searching for her dinner! There's a stream around here, would you like to join Rin for dinner?"

Kagome could not help but smile at the small kind girl, wondering how it was that she remained so innocent and happy around a being as cold as Sesshoumaru. That wasn't to say she hadn't witnessed the inu youkai's niceness, he'd helped them a couple times, and she'd been privy to seeing his state of mind when he rescued Rin before. He obviously cared for the young girl, but even then, Kagome had never seen him grace her with a smile, or a hug. Was Sesshoumaru even capable of hugging?

"I'd love to have dinner with you Rin… Do you, um, happen to know where we are?"

"Rin doesn't…" The girl frowned sadly, then immediately brightened, "Oh! But Lord Sesshoumaru will! We can ask him!"

Rin grasped her small hand around Kagome's, happy to be of help to the girl; completely ignorant of the miko's expression of surprise and mild fear. Sesshoumaru would **never** help her… She was over the thought that he would kill her on the spot like she used to think, but that didn't mean she was looking for trouble.

"H-Hey, let's catch some food first, hmm?" Kagome offered shakily, trying to at least attempt to prolong her meeting with the demon lord, thinking about what she could possibly say to him that would get him to help her.

"Oh! Yes! That's a great idea, Kagome!"

The couple set about to gathering some berries and edible leaves before Kagome showed her to a nearby stream that they could fish out of. The two girls laughed and fooled around while they gathered their dinner, even splashed a bit in the water. It was about 7PM by Kagome's internal clock's guess, heading into fall, the sun had started to set earlier than it had before.

After Kagome and Rin had caught six fish, Kagome could no longer deny that the time was arriving where she'd have to face the demon lord. Holding back an edible gulp, the two girls made their way back to Rin's campsite towards a small smoldering fire.

Jaken raised his irritated green face towards Rin as she ambled out from the brush,  
"About time you finished, Rin," he grumbled, "I'm was about to go in there after you myself be—WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE?!"

Kagome emerged behind Rin shyly, her yellow bag slung about her back, nervously twirling a lock of ebony hair around her pale fingers. Rin gave Jaken a toothy grin,  
"I found her in the forest! She's lost, so I said we could ask Lord Sesshoumaru where to go!"

Jaken growled,  
"you idiot! Lord Sesshoumaru does not have the time for the likes of a lowly mortal gir- OUCH! You insignificant wench! How dare you hit me!"

Kagome's azure eyes flashed in the fading light,  
"Maybe you'll learn to show some respect next time, Toad, the next one will be harder,"

The imp demon visibly struggled for words at her threat, too angry to come up with anything that didn't sound immature, so he merely 'Hmphed!' and turned his head away from the two.  
Rin sat before the fire, shadows dancing across her small frame as she began cooking the fish,  
"Look, Master Jaken! We caught enough fish for everyone! Even you, Ah-Un and Lord Sesshoumaru!"

"Lord Sesshoumaru has no need for food often, Rin; you known that," he chided, secretly not wanting the girl to be displeased when the great youkai turned her offer down flat.

"Speaking of, where is Lord Sesshoumaru, Master Jaken?" The human girl turned inquisitive eyes towards the short imp youkai, patiently awaiting his answer.

"He merely stated he would be back shortly."

Kagome let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. Smiling a bit more easily, she turned her cooking stick that she had a speared fish on, attempting to cook it thoroughly. Satisfied, she took the stick out from the ground and shifted towards Jaken to hand it to him. He, in turn, looked at her stupidly, blinking repeatedly as if he didn't know what to do with the stick she was quite obviously handing his way.

"Well, take it, you're probably hungry too," Kagome stately plainly, not in an unkind way. The imp demon silently reached over as if to grab it before catching himself.

"I do not need to accept food from a lowl—GUURPHMM!"

Kagome, having no explicit want, nor need to listen to the demon, had taken the opportunity to merely shove the cooked fish into his mouth, not wishing to hear more,  
"Yeah, yeah, just eat and be thankful," she muttered.

Rin clambered to her feet and trailed over to the giant, green, scaled two-headed dragon of Sesshoumaru's, feeding each head a fish. Even from there Kagome could hear the dragon's purr of appreciation.

All of the sudden Kagome's head snapped back to look towards the sky,  
"A strong demon's fast approaching," she stated, fearing she knew exactly who it was. Even with his youki sealed, Sesshoumaru's presence was unmistakable.

"Lord Sesshoumaru!" Rin cried delightedly, waving her arm back in forth to greet him. Kagome's blue eyes widened as she saw said white figure descending downwards, silky silvery hair shimmering as it cascaded like of waterfall of so many strands over his broad shoulders and down his back. Kagome could see, even from the distance, how his amber eyes glowed; staring at his 'pack' and the outsider. She felt herself inhale as soft black boots touched the ground silently, those bright eyes locking onto her blue orbs. She suppressed a shiver threatening to travel her spine as the demon lord strode towards them with a blank expression.

"Welcome back, my Lord!" Rin chimed cutely, a large toothy grin spread over her lips. Sesshoumaru turned his impassive face towards the young human,  
"Rin. Why is the miko here," it was not a question.

His monotonous tone didn't seem to faze Rin in the slightest and she replied instantaneously,  
"I found her in the woods!"

Kagome sweat-dropped, _Just like a stray dog… wow, no pun intended_, she opened her mouth to supply the youkai with a better answer.  
"I um… I was trying to find my way back to InuYasha's forest and… got lost."

She almost regretted speaking as the inu youkai turned to focus his full attention back onto her, his silence disconcerting her a bit. Thank god for Rin who, predictably, broke the quietness,  
"Lord Sesshoumaru? Can we help her find her way? Please? Please, please, **pleaaaaaseeee**?"

"Rin! Do not waste our Lord's time on such silly sentiments! The girl can find her own way!" Jaken snapped viciously as the young girl flinched back, letting her hands drop to her sides and lowering her head. Kagome felt a twinge of sympathy for the girl, turning a glare towards the imp demon as Rin's lips formed a small frown.

Sesshoumaru remained silent as Rin mumbled a soft apology before turning narrowing eyes towards Jaken,  
"I do not remember telling you to speak for me, Jaken," the Daiyoukai's growl rumbled through his chest like a soft threat.

"Y-Y-Yes M'lord, sorry M'lord!" Jaken stammered quickly, lowering his face half in fear and half in respect, "I apologize for my ignorance."

"Hn."

Kagome looked upon the scene with growing interest; though she had seen many times that the inu youkai had favored the young human, it still surprised her. Rin looked up to Sesshoumaru with a giant smile, rocking backing on her heels happily. Sesshoumaru once again swung that dangerous gaze towards Kagome, staring at her for a few unnerving seconds before turning away and walking to a tree ten metres to the left; silently sinking to a recumbent position, his back propped against the thick trunk.

The lord closed his eyes then, revealing two magnificent magenta strokes trailing his delicate eye lids, long dark lashes casting shadows over his cheeks. Kagome blinked, no one could deny Sesshoumaru's beauty… It was ethereal. 'Beauty' was not what men commonly wanted to described as, but handsome just didn't cut it… He was literally just… beautiful. Clothed in deep shadows of blues, blacks and greys, Kagome watched as a slight wind stirred the demon lord's hair softly around him, the crescent displayed proudly on his forehead looking black against his pale skin.

The young miko ceased her thoughts and turned those azure orbs onto Rin as the younger girl grinned at her,  
"We will help you!" she exclaimed brightly as always.

Kagome blinked stupidly, not quite understanding how the young girl came to that conclusion from the little conversation between the two youkai, but figured that if Rin were wrong, this would be the time Sesshoumaru would speak up to correct her. A quick glace towards him and back to Rin settled her thoughts; she'd figure it out later, she decided.

As the evening wore on, the two females talked excitedly amongst themselves. Kagome grabbed her yellow pack and unzipped it – earning an interested stare from the demons and human girl, and inquisitive question from Rin. Kagome was a bit stuck, unsure of what to do. She didn't trust Sesshoumaru enough to let him know that she was from the future,  
"Uh, we picked up a couple strange things along the journey… This is called a zipper," she answered uneasily.

Luckily for her, the young girl let it go, seemingly satisfied with the answer. The miko smiled and dug into her bag, looking for one object in particular,  
"Ah! Here it is," she smiled triumphantly and withdrew her hand, holding out a sucker to Rin. The girl looked on in awe, a small hand reaching out to take it. A small breeze blew by leaving Kagome to discover her hand empty and a confused girl whose hand was, also, empty. Feeling a tickle at her shoulder, Kagome looked to her right to see a long lock of silver hair softly swaying. Trailing up the white silk-clothed leg beside her, her eyes met with Sesshoumaru's face, a suspicious look in his amber eyes as he sniffed at the hardened sugar, a hard set to his mouth.

Kagome held back a sigh, _looks like I'm not the only untrusting one._ She let a small grin tug at the corners of her lips,  
"It isn't poisoned or anything, Se-Lord Sesshoumaru, it is merely a candy,"

Those suspicious eyes narrowed down at her, lingering for a moment longer before returning to the candy. It was a second more before he must have deemed it was safe enough for his human ward since he let his arm drop and gently tossed it towards the girl, having already begun his way back to his original spot by the tree. This time as he sat, his golden eyes pieced out of the darkness, trained on the two.

Rin tugged at the weird wrapping, seemingly trusting her Lord's judgement unwaveringly, shoving the hard sphere into her mouth immediately after winning her war with its wrapping.  
Kagome's grin widened as she watched the girls eyes turn into saucers, sucking on the candy deliciously,  
"It's really, really good, Kagome! It's so sweet!" she exclaimed, those wide brown eyes smiling as bright as her lips were.

Kagome giggled,  
"It's strawberry flavoured."

"Well… I guess it _kinda_ tastes like strawberries… but I think it tastes more like the sweep syrup that get from those special trees!"

"It's essentially what they use to make them, they're called suckers," she over-simplified; it would be impossible for the girl to completely understand mass-produced candy unless she knew all lot more about Kagome's time.

It was a few hours later that the young girl curled up beside the fire. The two had shared many stories, sometimes Kagome even forgot that Sesshoumaru was staring at them from the treeline. Never for long though; Sesshoumaru, if any, was a demon whose presence demanded acknowledgement. Any time Kagome had glanced back, she'd met the demon lord's eyes; not once did he break their connection. She was always the one to lower her eyes or return them to the younger girl; her lack of comfort must have been evident because Rin smiled at her at one point,  
"Don't worry, Kagome. Lord Sesshoumaru will not hurt you! He's actually very nice!"

Kagome felt that familiar tugging at her lips, the girl trusted him inexplicably,  
"I know he's secretly nice," she joked, for the youkai lord had never outwardly showed her kindness, only in a roundabout way that left her wondering, "I just need to look at you to be reassured."

The girl got a serious look and glanced towards both demons before waving her hand at Kagome motioning her to move closer so she could let her in on what seemed to be a big secret; the miko had no choice but to humour the girl and lean forwards,  
"Did you know that, sometimes, if it's a cold night, Lord Sesshoumaru tells me to wrap up in his fluff, or even puts it over me in the middle of the night!"

Kagome couldn't help but looked a little shocked, Sesshoumaru was capable of caring to that point that he worried for his wards physical comfort?  
_I guess I shouldn't really be so surprised… I mean, Rin is a little girl; it would be cruel to ignore her comfort. I just can't picture Sesshoumaru giving up something of his for her…_  
The miko smiled softly; obviously there was more to the youkai than she knew. Kagome thought it was cute, now seeing Sesshoumaru more as a doting father or brother to Rin, the mental image itself warmed her insides.

Her blue eyes made their way to glance back at him once again, only to have him intimidatingly lock her gaze, his slightly narrowed eyes - daring her to see his care as a weakness like his father's had been. Kagome, for what seemed to be the tenth time that night, held back a gulp and looked back towards Rin. Seemingly, the young girl either forgot, or didn't know, of the strong hearing inu youkais' possessed; Sesshoumaru quite clearly knew every word being said.

It was shortly after that Rin had fallen asleep beside Kagome, stretched out on top of a blanket, and underneath a second. Kagome prodded at the crackling fire, her eyes seemingly mesmerized by nature's erratic dance, throwing the whole clearing into sharp reliefs of shadows. Jaken lay on his back a short few meters away, snoring rather annoyingly; the Staff of Two Heads propped up beside him. The miko tugged at the grey cuff of her cardigan sleeve and finally let her eyes be drawn to where they'd been pulling to all night. The demon lord sat in the same position he had reclined in all night, his back against a tree with a knee propped up, one graceful arm slung over it. Kagome could see that his molten eyes were closed, once again revealing those artful brush strokes over his lids. She idly wondered if he were sleeping as she got to her feet. Unthinkingly, her body made its own decision to move her closer to his spot, small soft steps almost inaudibly thumped beneath her.

She must have been within two meters before she blinked, opening her eyes only to find herself looking up into his fierce golden orbs, the stars a backdrop behind him, and struggling to pull in air. Kagome could feel her back pressed against the hard bark of a tree and a warm hand embracing her small neck. Her blood pressure was skyrocketing, adrenaline being pumped through her body before she could even register what had happened in the first place. It took her a minute but she finally managed to drag in a breath noisily after having it previously stolen from impact.

Sesshoumaru stared down at the stupid girl; her ambiguous reasons for nearing his person were locked in her brain that still raced for answers. The Daiyoukai twitched his fingers around her neck, waiting for her to state her wants, completely dissatisfied with the breach of his territory. Surely even the girl knew better than to come into any dog's territory and expect no consequences? Ignorant humans.

Kagome tried to open her mouth to speak, but her mind just couldn't properly form her words. She felt heat, his heat, on her neck; his solid frame in front of hers as the youkai held- but not choked – her.  
_You idiot. What the hell did you think would happen if you went near a sleeping demon? _  
She mentally scolded herself, a slight shudder racking her spine as she felt the tips of those dangerous claws skim her fragile skin.  
"Are you… Are you really going to help me?" her voice sounded a bit raspy, even to her.

Sesshoumaru stared unblinkingly into her eyes; feeling he had gotten his warning to her across, he slowly uncurled his hand and let it drop back to his side. The youkai stepped away to the side, having no want to be near to this human; completely disregarding her question.

"W-Why? I mean, it's no secret I'm not your favorite… species."

The youkai had half a mind to tell her his decisions did not require her to understand; but then he didn't want her to mistake that he was doing it for her, or worse, himself.  
"Rin. She desires human companionship."

The demons curt response had Kagome holding back a small smile. Her gaze swept over his tall build, his stillness surprised her; the only moving parts on him were his hair and clothes, stirring lightly in the warm breeze. She absorbed the view of the malevolent demon in front of her almost guiltily. She had always loved InuYasha, practically from the first time she'd set eyes on those furry white appendages. Though his increasingly frequent midnight visits to a certain priestess had been grating on her confidence for quite some time now. Not that the great Daiyoukai would ever look at her with anything close to affection, mind you; but that didn't make her blind. And dare she think it? The sight of him in front of her seemed to be doing mean things to her…

"Make no mistake, mortal. This is not for you," his deep baritone rumbled through his chest, those brilliantly gleaming eyes once again on the raven-haired girl.

"Don't worry; I never would," she grinned slightly, "Thank you, Lord Sesshoumaru."

"Hn."

Holding back a sarcastic remark about his lack of vocabulary, the girl walked around the demon, giving him wide berth, and back to Rin's side. The fire was just dying down for the night and exhaustion enveloped her body as her adrenaline died down a second time that evening. She heard the demon lord returning to his original position, mentally making a note to not act like an idiot again… well, intentionally anyway.

Kagome turned on her side, her back facing the Daiyoukai across the clearing. Surprisingly, she was very much at ease with going to sleep; her confidence that the youkai would not let any demon near their camp just for the purpose of protecting the young one in front of her. Rin sprawled on her back, one arm flung up above her head, the other out from her side. The miko could not help but smile motherly at her sleeping habits as she adjusted Rin to a more comfortable position and tucked her in.  
Kagome lay on her side, sliding her eyes closed to half-mast; her hand snaking up her body to rest at her throat.  
Even now she could still feel the demon's heat.


	2. Irritation and consternation

CHAPTER 2:

Morning came quickly to meet the odd pack; Kagome opening her eyes slowly, the morning sun causing her to squint. Big brown iris' met hers, Rin's smiling face sharpening into contrast in her sleep-fogged gaze,  
"G'morning Rin," the miko slurred, a gentle smile playing over her lips.

"Morning, Kagome!"

Kagome lifted her upper body off the ground and rolled into a sitting position. She pushed her arms into the air, feeling a satisfying pop and she stretched her tight joints. Her azure eyes took in the clearing around her and came to rest on the Daiyoukai on the other side, standing with his back to her.

"Have you eaten, Rin?" she inquired, looking towards her. She got a head shake 'no' in response,  
and got up to grab her bag. She figured that instant noodles would hold the girl over for a good while instead of having to find more food so early in the morning. After pulling out a cup of instant noodles and her cast iron pot, Kagome stated,  
"I'm going to go get some stream water to boil, will you wait here until I come back?"

"Okay!"

Her adventure to the stream didn't last long, returning with the pot sloshing water around inside. Jaken surprisingly was the one that started the fire with his staff; making it easier for Kagome than having to build it herself (she always left that to InuYasha).

Kagome set to boiling the water with ease, a light smile playing her lips,  
"Rin, I'm going to make you something called ramen!"

"Ramen, Kagome? What is it?"

"Hmm… It's a type of noodle… uhh, kind of like bread rolled really tight and steeped in water,"

Kagome almost hung her head in shame, inwardly crying at the most pathetic excuse of an explanation for ramen she'd ever heard.

"Rin loves to try new food!"

It was at that point that Sesshoumaru pinned Rin with a stare, apparently his silence was all she needed to understand what he wanted,  
"Oh! Excuse me, _I_ love to try new food!" she accentuated before she grinned broadly at the demon.

Sesshoumaru nodded before moving to stand by Ah-Un, one pale hand softly traced down one of the dragon's scaled necks before he looked away, apparently lost in thought as a familiar blankness clouded his expression.

Kagome completed preparing the ramen and called Rin over, handing her a pair of chopsticks,  
"You need to make sure that you blow on them so they don't burn your mouth, okay?"

Rin nodded, doing just as she instructed before tentatively putting a singular noodle into her mouth. Her eyes perceptibly widened, making a noise of approval before sticking more into her mouth happily. Kagome chuckled, eating her own cup of noodles.  
"Lord Sesshoumaru, did you want to try some?" she offered out of politeness, "InuYasha seems to not be able to get enough of them, I'm always bringing more."

Sesshoumaru was drawn out of his mind by the miko's voice; he glanced back over his shoulder towards her, unnoticeably hinting the air to catch a wiff of the food she had prepared.  
_Such… foreign things… Where does this human come upon such? What does she mean 'bringing more'? The wrapping is even more vibrantly coloured than any painting I have seen before… This Sesshoumaru has not seen anything like it. Then again, neither have I seen clothes such as hers before either._

He blinked gold-flecked amber eyes in her direction, his impassive mask over his face, hiding all. It smelled… salty, a few spices tingled in his nose as well. Though he would never let her know his interest,  
"This Sesshoumaru has no intentions of sharing food," he narrowed his eyes towards her.

Kagome was taken aback for a moment before she scowled and huffed angrily,  
"Well fine, just thought I'd offer," _Jerk_, she completed her sentence in her mind, her expression clearly showing enough her displeasure towards him.

"Prepare, Miko, we leave soon," Sesshoumaru's voice drifted over to her as he began walking away into the forest. Jaken tended to Ah-Un as they prepared to depart; Kagome dumped the remaining water on top of the fire and dried the pot, playing a quick game of tetris to manage to shove everything back into her bag. Two cups of ramen gone seemed to make a lot of room.

True to his word, it was not long before the group set off, Sesshoumaru leading like the good alpha he was (as if he'd be any other place), Kagome and Rin following behind him a little ways, talking animatedly about whatever the younger girl offered up, and Jaken leading Ah-Un by the reigns at the end of the line, his second hand using the Staff of Two Heads to aid in walking.

Kagome watched the Daiyoukai's silky hair methodically swing back and forth with his even steps,  
_Geez… Even his gait is beautiful… Figures. Hmm. Is it just me, or is Sesshoumaru keeping his distance a bit more since last night? Well, it's not like I'd really know I guess, I've only even seen Sesshoumaru when InuYasha and I chanced upon him, or he came searching for us. I must just be over-thinking it._

"Kagome, Kagome! What's your favourite colour?"

"Mmm, I'm going to have to choose… Red! No, pink!... Maybe a mix of the two, magenta-like,"

"…Magenta?" the girl inquired, interested in learning the new colour's name.

"Yeah, it's like… It's like, a pink and red mixed, only… more red than pink!"

"Oh! So, it's like Lord Sesshoumaru's stripes!" Rin compared, quite accurately in fact.

Kagome glanced up towards the lord, who pretended to not notice their words,  
"Yes, actually, that's the perfect colour for magenta." Kagome blushed a little bit, unsure of why she felt a little shy at making comparisons to the youkai aloud. She smiled at Rin, "what about you, Rin? What's your favourite?"

Rin looked thoughtful for a moment, a small frown graced those softly plumped lips, "I like… My favourite colour would be… yellow! Like my Lord's eyes!"

Kagome suddenly turned a slightly deeper pink, her cheeks flushing.  
_Yup, definitely time to change the conversation_, she needed to steer it away from Sesshoumaru – though she had to admit, the child's clear admiration of him was endearing.

"Kagome, what is… What is the happiest memory you can remember?" Rin's question, though intending to be innocent, was a bit disconcerting to the miko. Rin's question brought up past times with InuYasha. The first time he hugged her, the first real smile she saw, the first time she kissed him and he'd returned from his demon state… Now it felt like those also caused a contradictory pain to accompany the happiness. But none of those were one's she was willing to mention, especially with the Daiyoukai in front of her. Nope. Would not happen.

"I guess it would be… When I realized I was surrounded by friends in this tim—Uhm, in a time of need," Kagome choked out, catching herself before revealing her crucial secret to the group.  
_Kagome, you idiot, what are you thinking?!_ She scolded herself internally; _You can't have another mess up like that! Almost giving away the fact that you aren't from this time… You idiot._

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes, ignoring the desire to turn and stare down the miko. It was clear to him that she had been about to say something else; what was it?  
_What is the miko hiding, I wonder… This Sesshoumaru grows annoyed of questioning about her. I have no desire to know the human better than current. We are merely escorting her because Rin should have a good female role model, a good human one, every now and then._

Kagome peeked at Rin to see if she noticed anything amiss – as per usual, that would be a no. Rin turned her gaze downward and smiled softly,  
"Rin's would be… when my Lord accepted Rin… me."

Kagome smiled gently, she didn't know about the story of Rin and Sesshoumaru, but the girl plainly cared for him greatly.

"Rin," Sesshoumaru's baritone voice flowed to the two human girls, the younger one instantly perking. He had not turned to speak to them, merely continued walking as if his words were general, "That is enough, Rin."

"Yes, my Lord." Rin smiled broadly before running up to his side, "May I go pick some flowers, m'lord?"

The inu youkai inclined his head towards her, "Be mindful to keep up, Rin."

Kagome grinned to herself, reminded of the reckless abandon children's minds are privy to. She could remember when she was around the same age as Rin; her only concerns were what snack awaited her for recess and which friend she would make a play date with that weekend. That being said, Rin had obviously gone through more than she had, having had loving parents and given the privilege of education that didn't exist in this realm of time.

She was struck again by the thought of how little she knew about the girl's life prior to discovering that she traveled with the inu youkai lord.  
_I wonder where she lived before… Where her parents are? Sesshoumaru isn't the type of demon to seek out a human child and spirit her away from her life… What happened to this young girl?_

The Shikon miko made a mental note to get Rin's story sometime when she could do it away from the demon lord's intrusive ears; clearly he didn't want Rin telling her what had happened between the two. She dare say it greatly intrigued her as to why, and the story behind it all.

Rin bounced about the group, grabbing the stems of flowers that were growing parallel to both sides of the path. She hummed to herself cheerfully, making a noise of appreciation as she laid eyes on a beautiful indigo flower. She giggled to herself happily as she added it to the rest and ran towards group.

"Ah-Un, here!" she smiled broadly as the two headed dragon lowed it's faces so she could place flowers behind both of their ears; chuckling as they both nuzzled into either side of her neck. The young human moved on to Jaken, sneakily placing a big white flower underneath the strap of his cap; laughing as she was discovered and running up to be beside Kagome, ignoring the rants of the imp youkai. The miko smiled down at Rin, accepting the beautiful yellow flower she was offered and placed it behind her own right ear,  
"Thank you, Rin. It is a beautiful flower."

Rin smiled up at her, "Kagome, you're super pretty. I hope I'm as pretty as you are when I grow up," she chirped before moving onto her next target, leaving a sputtering, blushing miko behind her.

"Lord Sesshoumaru, Lord Sesshoumaru! Look at the pretty flower Rin found!"

Kagome regarded the scene in front of her with strong surprise as the demon lord, known for his icy tendencies, kneeled down to Rin's level; allowing the placement of the beautiful indigo flower behind one perfectly pointed ear, his gaze perceptibly drawing towards the miko. Sesshoumaru drew himself up to full height and turned, leveling Kagome with a stare.

Looking back, it would be a memory Kagome will have etched into her mind forever; the majestic lord standing meters away – silvery hair flowing softly around him as piercing amber eyes met hers. The flower adorned behind his ear, oddly, not making him look feminine in the least sort of ways. The youkai was simply… beautiful as always.

"Miko," that deep tone emitting from the perceived figure brought her back into real time with a jolt, "We near your destination."

"O-Oh, I – um… yes, thank you," she stumbled over her words, a slight flush in her cheeks. _How did I just get lost staring at him like that? No shame, I have NO shame._ Her mind berated her thoroughly as she followed behind the demon, not noticing the young girl fall back into step at her side.

"Are you happy, Kagome? We are almost there!" Rin chirped, ever the optimist.

"I am, but I'm going to miss you," Kagome replied, mussing the young girls hair, receiving a childish giggle in response, "But I'm certain I will see you again soon, after all I'll have to get you a gift for your kindness."

"Oh no, Kagome, not at all, Rin- - I was happy to help! But Lord Sesshoumaru was the one to show us the way."

"That may be so, but you were the one who sought for a means to help," Kagome grinned. The girl was as innocent as she was sweet; deciding she would personally see to the destruction of anything - or anyone - that tried to take it away. Kagome discovered she cared maternally for Rin, wanting to protect the young one from all the hurt and pain the harsh world caused.

"Okay Kagome, and we can play next time too!"

Sesshoumaru ceased his silent steps drawing Kagome's attention. He slowly reached up to the stem of the flower, plucking it out of his hair and twirling it slowly in his deadly clawed fingers. His gaze flicked to her as he let the flower drop from his appendage,  
"This is as far as we will go, Miko. Your village is within sight."

Kagome nodded, smiling down at Rin,  
"Well Rin, until next time! Thank you for your help Lord Sesshoumaru."

"Hn."

Kagome restrained the urge to outwardly roll her eyes and was about to begin her descent of the hill when she remembered something,  
"Oh! Rin! Come here for a moment," Kagome dropped her bag off of her shoulder and rested it on the ground, unzipping the main pocket. She pulled out a cotton blanket from the depths of her treasure chest, holding it out to the young girl, "For those colder nights."

Rin's smile, if possible, widened as she accepted the blanket and hugged it to her chest,  
"It's so soft! Thank you, Kagome!"

Kagome nodded, shouldering her backpack and set off once again down the hill.

Sesshoumaru watched the retreating back of the young girl, his golden gaze imperceptibly narrowing,  
"Jaken. You will continue back to the clearing a little ways away and make camp. We will rest for the day and begin our travels again when I inform you. Rin, follow Jaken."

"Y-Yes, M'lord!" the youkai jumped into action, turning the dragon around and leading Ah-Un back the way they came, the young girl still holding the blanket trailed after him humming.

_She is not heading towards the village… I assumed that was where her destination was, despite when she informed us of heading towards InuYasha's forest… What lies for her in the forest? The ignorant miko can hardly defend herself as it is… Is she to meet another there? Or perhaps she left something behind? All of these irritation questions and not one answer, this Sesshoumaru grows tired of these queries._ Sesshoumaru supressed a snort of indignation, _I will have my answers…_

The demon youkai turned his face towards the wind and caught scent of the young miko, trailing after her strawberry vanilla-like scent down the hill and into the forest. Sesshoumaru kept his youki wrapped close to him, his thoughts straying to the miko's purpose once more. He just needed to know the answer is all. This human filled his mind with questions but had not provided any answers- at least, not any that didn't supply even more questions.

He came upon a vine-covered well that sat near the Goshinboku where his brother was once sealed.  
_Pathetic hanyou, allowing a simple priestess to seal his youkai blood; disgracing our lineage…_ Sesshoumaru's amber eyes intensified as he forced his sights away from the God tree and back towards the well. _Her scent… Her scent leads into the well. Her scent is all over this place, if only very faint from times before…_

The taciturn lord stepped up to the well and looked into the dark depths, clearly able to see the bottom, _This Sesshoumaru does not understand… Perhaps she is a black priestess and has more magic than I gave her credit for? I can smell the scent of… something. Change. Flows. I cannot pin this scent with one I know…_

The inu lord could not supress the soft growl that reverberated through his chest, his anger at the notion of more queries about the miko apparent. A soft red began to tint his eyes as his youkai blood aroused with his irritation. Sesshoumaru gathered his thoughts as he stared at the well, coming to a conclusion.

Kagome sighed happily as she reached the top of the well in her own time, the well house relatively warm since in modern Tokyo, it was just nearing the end of spring. The young girl straightened her clothes and hitched her bag up before sliding open the doors to the enclosure and making her way towards her house,  
"I'm going to have a bath… With bubbles… and a home cooked meal NOT over a fire!" she gushed happily to herself, "And a bed, a sweet, glorious, bed!"

The pulled a hand through her dark locks as she stepped into the front door,  
"Mom? Grandpa? Souta? I'm home!" she called, not surprised to hear no answer. Unconcerned, she made her way to her room to drop off her stuff and unpacked her bag, throwing the dirty clothes into a hamper and grabbing a towel to prepare for the aforementioned bath.

After slipping into the warm suds, she sighed peacefully, sinking into the soapy depths of the tub; already feeling from of the tension in her muscles flowing out of her.

Kagome opened her azure eyes, her elbows resting on the sides of the tub.  
_I still can't believe Sesshoumaru helped me… I wonder if I now supposedly owe him some kind of debt. He had mentioned it was for Rin- as if I'd be unclear on the fact he wouldn't normally consider helping me._ She let out a breath, watching as some of the pebble-sized bubbles burst and disappeared, a very low almost hissing noise was constantly audible to her if she paid attention. Luckily the human mind was an amazing thing, and her thoughts droned the insistent noise out.

An image sharpened to contrast in her mind, the face of the demon lord, two beautiful brush strokes high on his cheeks and over his eyelids, an indigo moon displayed proudly on his forehead. Those molten eyes pinning her own; his hair flowing silkily around him in an almost erotic swaying dance, framing that muscular form; the soft purple-blue petals of the flower Rin had placed behind his ear offsetting the silver.

Kagome's cheeks flushed a pretty pink as she sank lower in the water; she wasn't such an innocent little girl as she had been when she'd first journeyed to the past at the ripe age of 15. She was nearing 20 now, her mind sharper, her … needs becoming more apparent in her own mind. She huffed to herself, thinking of the young girl that traveled with the inu lord; all cheery demeanor and broad smiles. She thought of what she could bring the girl, an idea forming almost instantly,  
"Crayons!" _Of course! So simple yet something no child could turn down!_

Kagome finished her bath with a small triumphant smile, toweling herself off and drying her hair before returning to her room. Purple and pink décor still covered her childhood room, the green floor slightly clashing with the pink bedspread; but this was the place she was most comfortable in her house. A picture of her with InuYasha, Miroku, Sango, Shippou and Kirara sat in a frame on her study desk; she had found that by dragging a disposable camera with her she could take pictures in the feudal era and then when she had them developed, she lied about it being cosplay.

The miko thought it would be nice to take some more pictures of her friends after her first experience worked, and so threw two pre-packaged 32 shot cameras onto her floor to later pack. She crawled into bed and snuggled into her pillow, allowing sleep to overcome her exhausted body.

"Now you're sure you have everything, Kagome?"

"Yes mom, don't worry! After doing this a million times, I got it pretty down pat," she gave a friend smile towards her mother as she tapped the toe of her shoe on the floor, making the fit more comfortably. She'd spent the last week with her family, going to school during the week, sleeping in her own soft bed, eating dinner at home or with her friends. When she was home, it really reminded Kagome how much her generation thrived in ignorant bliss of the luxuries they have.

She said a last good bye to her family and strode across the courtyard to the well house, the familiar darkness peeking at her from the square structure. Kagome took a deep breath as she peered over the edge.  
_Here we go, back to the past, back to InuYasha, Sango and the others…_

Kagome hesitated, her mind conjuring a fabricated image of Kikyou and InuYasha, her soul gatherers gliding through the air as if it were water. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, _no need to make yourself upset… You've been going in this circle for the better part of four and a half years; playing this stupid back and forth game. He was never fully yours, and face it… InuYasha never will be._

Exhaling softly she climbed up onto the edge and closed her eyes, dropping herself through time. She felt her stomach roll as she struggled against the kick-back reaction to jerk her body, feeling like she was in free-fall.

Her loafers softly touched the dirt floor, opening her eyes revealed a vine-covered wall in front of her. The young miko stepped forward, hoisting herself up the side and over the top, her endeavor paying off. Kagome sat on the lip for a moment, resting as she surveyed her surroundings. Her azure orbs caught a lock of white hair flowing in the wind, a figure recumbent on the other side of the tree across the clearing.  
_Wow, he came to get me? Maybe he's finally about to apologize! Who know he could take a mature step like that,_ Kagome stifled a giggle. She hauled her bag strap over one shoulder and made her way towards him.

As she got closer, alarm bells began ringing in her mind.  
_Wait… His hair is too long… and it's silver-_ "**OUF**!"

Kagome's wide stormy blue eyes stared into familiar but distinctly different golden pair, a red band boarded over each lid.

Sesshoumaru stared down at the miko below him, his right striped arm lying over her neck, effectively pinning Kagome to the ground; her abused body trying forcibly to draw in air that her lungs refused to take.

"S-S-Lord Sesshoum-maru," she wheezed, a surprised lilt colouring her tone.

"Miko. I want answers; it would be unwise to ignore this Sesshoumaru's queries," the inu youkai growled. He was lying on the ground, half hovering over the young girl, his face close to hers, amber eyes gleaming brightly with an almost unnoticeable touch of red, "Where do you go, miko… Where do you go to in the well."

Kagome audibly sucked in a gasp, her azure eyes wide,  
"You…You followed me…"

"Where. Miko."

Kagome squeaked as the demon applied a little more pressure, her trachea pinching painfully. Sesshoumaru could scent the fear coming from her, hear her heart beat quicken, feel the jump in her pulse under his arm; he held her life in his hands, quite literally.

"A-Away.. Away from here…"

Sesshoumaru's growl reverberated through his chest and settled into hers, her ribs vibrating with the sensation. Kagome swallowed forcefully; suddenly very aware of every place the inu youkai's hard body touched hers. The center of his chest lightly hovering over her left side, his pale warm arm over her neck, the empty left sleeve of his haori resting on her hip. She could feel the cold wood of the two sheaths of his swords against the left of her stomach.

"The… The fu..ture…"

Sesshoumaru's eyes perceptibly widened a fraction, his arm pulling back just slightly from her airway, allowing her to breathe a little easier. He seemed to be contemplating her answer, his face turned just slightly to the right, away from her. Kagome felt him remove his arm, clearly moving to stand up. He'd gotten his answer now, whatever other questions he should have could easily be answered now that the main one was out of the way. She closed her eyes and blew out a lungful she'd been unaware she was holding, her head rolling to the right.

As Sesshoumaru was about to stand, he felt the miko release a sigh of relief, her soft breath flowing over the left side of his neck and ear. Within a blink, those white and amber orbs grew blue and red, offsetting against his silver hair as he slowly lowered his head.

Kagome eyes shot open as she felt something silky, wet and warm against the side of her neck; her body froze. For what felt like a minute-but was in reality only three seconds- her mind tried to comprehend the hot sensation trailing up the left side of her neck. The miko let out a soft whimper unconsciously, the motion freezing the inu youkai. Kagome squeezed her eyes shut as a rush of wind encompassed her, her hair whipping about in a frenzy; a distinctly cold portion chilled rapidly on her neck. When she opened her azure orbs and sat up, she was alone in the clearing,  
"… S-….Sesshoumaru?" she winced, her voice sounding squeaky even to her.

After a few seconds, Kagome still couldn't believe what had just happened. She rose up on shaky legs, unsure if she was scared from almost dying or… just confused about what actually happened. The whole situation felt rather… surreal. The miko lifted a hand to her collar, goose bumps covering every inch of her skin; her fingertips just barely grazing the surface.

It was wet.


	3. Dreams and reality

CHAPTER 3

"I kid you not, Sango… That's what happened…" Kagome finished her story, steam curling around the figures of the two girls as they chatted secretly in the hot springs they'd found. Kagome hadn't been back for more than fifteen minutes when she demanded the men stop at a hot springs so she and Sango could bathe, she had to tell her unrelated chosen sister what she'd now dubbed 'The Story of Sesshoumaru.'

"I… I honestly don't know what to say Kagome… Wow… I wouldn't have ever thought… Sesshoumaru?" Sango trailed off of several thoughts verbally, too many emotions running through her at the thought of the inu lord essentially molesting her sister. She worried a bit, but she didn't want to raise the issue with the miko now, she was back with the group, and InuYasha would be able to protect her should the need arise.

InuYasha sniffed, the scent of Kagome's strawberries and cream shampoo floated through the clearing. He blinked liquid golden eyes, his peripheral vision catching a bit of movement to the left a good distance away. The inu looked over towards the houshi, he's eyes flattening,

"What the hell…"

Miroku looked back towards the hanyou, waving him over, making the gesture to be quiet. Intrigued, InuYasha trailed towards him, his ears twitched wildly about his head, and swiveled, catching the girls voices.

"I know… I mean… It was my neck… and it was Sesshoumaru…"

"Wait-WHAT?! What did that bastard do!" InuYasha leapt into view, his gaze flashing dangerously, small fangs bared before he could realize what he'd unconsciously done. Miroku sighed heavily in the background, he should've just motioned the half demon away from him, instead he had called him over and the hanyou had given him away immediately. Ah, such is life.

The two girls stared blankly at InuYasha, frozen in their previous-to-interruption positions; Kagome with her hand up to her neck, the other resting beneath the water and Sango turned at a forty-five degree angle to her.

Kagome was the first to snap back to herself, closing her eyes as she could physically feel her blood boiling,

"InuYasha…" the hanyou's ears twitched at the low tones her voice acquired before flattening to his head, a slight 'Eep!' escaping him as he jumped back, hand's raised defensively, "SIT! SIT SIT SIT SIT SSIIITTTT!"

Sango rose to her feet, the swell of her breasts exposed to the chilled air. She grabbed her towel from the embankment, hefting her Hiraikotsu over her shoulder.

"N-Now, now, now, Sango… We can talk this out," Miroku's oscillating tone reached Kagome, _Oh, sweet music to my ears,_ she sighed softly as a resounding thunk pierced the quiet.

Kagome let out a soft gasp, arching her back slightly and shuddering as a hot mouth nibbled at her neck. She moaned softly, opening her eyes to half-mast and staring at the stars unseeingly while a clawed hand traced up her navel.

Moon-kissed hair swirled around the couple, soft and silky, tickling her now exposed stomach. The miko couldn't help but let her eyes drift shut as sharp fangs pricked against her neck, not so hard as to lacerate the skin, but enough to be delectably dangerous and arousing. Hot breath warmed her, the air quickly chilling the moistened spot.

That skilled hand traced the swell of her left breast, her body warmed by his above her. She raised her hips to push against him to encourage more, her body having a mind of its own as she experienced feelings she never had before; her ear being graced with a soft wet caress around the outer shell followed by a light nip.

A moan extricated from her body as that skillful hand slipped beneath her bra, askewing it. Her pink nipple budded into a hard nub as a thumb brushed over it, his claws gently tracing the fragile skin. She fumbled to release the last couple buttons on her shirt to give him better access to her tepid skin which was quickly elevating in temperature.

A soft smile tugged at her lips as molten eyes stared into hers, something flashing quickly in their heated depths before they lowered; agent bangs flowing across her chest as he locked the warmth of his mouth around her nipple, eliciting a gasp from her. She couldn't help the moan the rose from deep within her as he took a pull on her nipple, nibbling and licking; that deft, proficient tongue doing _bad_ things to her. His hand slid around her free breast, squeezing, pinching her accessible nipple between his index and thumb; electric need began flooding her body.

The miko felt her face flush, though not from embarrassment, her stimulated body demanded more. She gasped as her fingers gripped at his back, holding him closer, trying to portray her wants and needs through their intimacy; a soft growl rumbling through him that had nothing to do with anger.

She felt his hand slip from her left breast and trail teasingly down her stomach; she thrust her hips up; more, more, more.

Two clawed fingers played with the skin of her thigh at the hem of her plaid skirt. She whimpered softly; his mouth detached from her nipple and captured her lips sharply, cutting her off.

_More. Now, more, please!_

Those talented clawed fingers swirled against the sensitive skin on the inside of her thigh. She moaned into his mouth, grinding her hips up against him again. Her body wanted to jerk and move and rub, all on it's own accord. These alien feelings flooded her being, a dampness gathering in the junction of her legs along with heat, unbearable heat, that demanded, screamed for satiation.

Kagome felt his hand roaming closer to her womanhood, his soft but firm lips molded to her; occasionally nipping her. She suppressed the intense urge to shiver delightfully as he slipped a finger beneath the extendable elastic of her underwear.

"_My bitch_," a husky, low, almost inaudible voice breathed into her lips.

"Kagome?" her azure eyes shot open, her lips slightly parted and her body feeling warm; she jolted upright. InuYasha stared at her with bright golden inquisitive eyes, his head cocked with curiosity.

"Were you having a bad dream, Kagome?"

The miko felt her skin flush a deep crimson colour, looking about the clearing the Inutachi resided in; her comrades slowly coming to consciousness.

_I guess… Bad could be one way to describe it…_

She mutely shook her head, turning her embarrassed gaze away from her friend. It was twilight, allowing enough burning lamination to be able to see without a flame; the sun still struggling to raise above the mountain and floor the valley with its warmth.

"You… You smell different," InuYasha's tone lowered slightly, adapting a lower inflection. Miroku immediately perked to her right, Sango glancing between the three in slight confusion.

"I-I do n-not InuYasha!" she climbed quickly to her feet, stopping only to sling her quiver over her shoulder and grab her bow.

"Wai-What?! Where are you going, Kagome?!" The hanyou growled in bewilderment. The young girl threw a glare over her shoulder, knocking the half demon back a peg.

"For. A walk," she bit out tightly. Sango took the hint and clambered to her feet to follow after her.

Miroku glanced towards InuYasha as the dog threw his hands up in astonishment,

"What the hell did I do?! Crazy friggin' women."

A small smirk lanced through the houshi's lips,

"Oh InuYasha, you can be so naive," he chided his friend, chuckling good-naturedly. The hanyou pinned him with a glare.

"What are you talking about, Miroku."

Miroku turned a sly grin towards the inu, quirking a brow and throwing the young fox demon a glance to make sure he was still asleep before continuing,

"My dear comrade, did you not see Kagome's state? The redness colouring those soft cheeks, the slight glaze over her eyes? I have seen that face many… Many times."

InuYasha stared blankly at the monk, still not quite grasping the simplistic concept. He blinked a couple times in rapid succession. Miroku resisted the urge to shake the dog and, instead, sighed heavily. He leaned into the hanyou's ear and whispered a few sentences.

"… … … WHHAAAAAAAATTT?!"

Shippou awoke so expediously that he jumped from his spot in Kagome's sleeping bag and stumbled over sleep laden feet; face planting in front of the two males.

Sango fell into step beside the young miko whose face still glowed brightly in the early morning. She could tell the girl was struggling with the right words to say, her eyes nervously flickering everywhere except Sango.

"I… I, um… I had a dream," she began in a gentle tone. The taijiya nodded, urging her to continue,

"It wasn't… Well, it wasn't very… innocent."

The demon slayers stride halted, her expression portraying a slight shock before she exploded into laughter, grabbing her sides roughly, her cheeks flushing pink as she struggled for air.

Kagome shifted her weight from foot to foot nervously, glancing between her friend and the ground, taking no offence to her friend's unconcealed mirth,

"I did! And… Well…"

"Let me guess," she supported, still chuckling, wiping moisture that was beginning to gather in the corner of her eyes, "It was about a certain silver-hair, crescent crested, dog lord."

Kagome's blush deepened that much more,

"Um… yes," her faint reply whispered from her lips.

Sango coughed into a fisted hand, forcing herself to regain her composure and stepped up to her friend, and sister-at-heart; patting her shoulder reassuringly,

"Well, he DID lick your neck just yesterday… Did he not? I mean, if you'd told me that story in a calmer demeanor, I may not have believed it was true. The great demon lord, besotted with a human?"

"He's _not_ besotted… I… I don't honestly know _what_ he is… And frankly, it's a little disconcerting," she laughed nervously.

Sango gave her friend a wistful smile,

"Regardless, when something so… out of the ordinary happens, of course you're going to think and focus on it… And in doing so, it is likely to be incorporated into your dreams through your subconscious, ne? Does that make sense?"

Kagome gave it a though and slowly nodded; the slayer had a point,

"Yeah… Yeah you're right… I mean, it's not like he would actually _do_ that kind of thing, especially with me; it was really out of character for him… I guess that's what dreams are for," she grinned half-heartedly.

"I don't think I'd focus on it too much for now, obviously you can't help but think about his… odd behaviour, but- you're back here with us and he's somewhere miles and miles away.. I think."

"Gee, you're SO convincing, didja know that?" her tone dripped with sarcasm.

"What can I say, I try," Sango grinned at her.

The girls made their way back to the camp where a restless, impatient hanyou paced back and forth while an evidently amused Miroku looked on; Shippou still looked sleepy sitting next to Kirara who blinked lazy red eyes at them.

"Kagome. Kagome, what was your dream about?!"

Immediately the girl's face drained then filled with colour,

"It is none of your business," she growled.

"Tell me! You were dreaming about someone, weren't cha? And I wanna know!"

"Well isn't that just too bad."

InuYasha stalked up to her, his eyebrows dipping low over his eyes,

"Tell me! Was it Koga? Hmm? Was it!?"

Kagome's blue eyes flashed in the dawn light, her raven hair swirled around her as she met the demon's challenge and stood her ground,

"No! And it is NONE of your BUSINESS, InuYasha!"

"Was it that, that Hojo kid? Or, was it me?!"

"NO! …Now BACK OFF!"

InuYasha scowled, she'd said that a little too quickly for his liking,

"It can't have been him, Kagome! Tell me it wasn't Sesshoumaru!"

"INUYASHA! SIT BOY!"

"GUHH!" the resounding thud agitated birds into motion in the trees around them, leaving their roosts. Shippou raised half-lidded eyes, his hair in a disarray that only sleep could cause;

"InuYasha, why do you have to be so abrasive," he yawned loudly, clearly still displeased with being aroused from his sleep.

"Ya damn brat, I ain't abrasive! It's her and her secretive tendencies that cause problems!" The inu growled from his not-so-comfortable spot on the ground. Kagome growled, her voice low and dangerous,

"You have the nerve to say I'M secretive?" She shot him a deadly glare that cause the hanyou to shrink back instinctively before turning on heel and walking away from him with a resounding "Hmph!"

It was hours later, and many ensuing battles of will between InuYasha and Kagome, and the Inutachi were well on their journey for the day, heading towards the Northwest; the last place the crew had heard of a certain hanyou's evil hand terrorizing others. Kagome's eyes widened, her frame stiffening,

"I can sense an evil presence," she spoke low, the group around her all ceasing movement and turning their attention towards the miko.

Miroku gripped his staff harder, InuYasha raising his nose to the air and scenting,

"Yeah, that's the bastard all right… I can smell his filth from here," he growled, a slow grin spreading over his plump lips, "I say it's high time we had ourselves a battle."

Kirara growled and transformed in a burst of flames as Miroku and Sango made their way towards her quickly, mounting her back as Shippou hopped up to take first place. Kagome looked towards InuYasha as he returned her stare before turning to bare his back, pulling his hair aside. Kagome placed her hands onto his shoulders, giving a little jump before she felt his warm hands encircle her thighs. She felt a bit funny, but trained her face to remain blank. She didn't like this feeling, it was… uncomfortable, she didn't want to be on his back; but why? She'd never _really_ had an issue with it before… And she knew it wasn't because of their fighting. Something just felt off.

InuYasha took off at a run, jarring her from her thoughts roughly. She could feel every footfall as it struck the ground, resonating through his then her body. Kirara flew at an almost equal pace behind them, the fire neko roaring that faded into a hiss.

"Quick, InuYasha! His presence, it's disappearing!" Kagome closed her eyes, searching out Naraku's youki signature; or rather many signatures. The fading aura began to elude her senses, "I'm losing him."

"I know," InuYasha bit out through clenched teeth, willing his body faster.

They entered a clearing, the inu coming to a complete cessation. He heaved air into his lungs, Kagome sliding from his back and letting out a small sound; her hand raising to cover her mouth and nose. The clearing was full of dead youkai; blood ensconced the ground like a cloak of so much liquid. The smell of iron hung thick in the air as the rest of the Inutachi arrived.

"What did he do… Why did he do this?" Kagome's tone portrayed her disbelief as she shuddered; her whole body growing colder.

InuYasha's had sharply whipped sideways,

"Sesshoumaru."

The youkai lord landed in the clearing, his soft leather boots touched the ground inaudibly. Molten amber eyes traced towards the group, immediately resting on Kagome before flicking away.

"Jaken. Keep Rin back." His baritone whipped through the clearing, a resounding acknowledgement from the imp could be heard. Kagome watched him sadly, then swung her gaze back towards the scene- at least he was hiding the gruesomeness from the little girl; though Kagome was sure she had seen worse.

Disembodied human parts littered the forest floor creating a morbid scenery like some brutal videogame from her time; only a heck of a lot more macabre and lifelike. Pieces of bone and flesh clung to the foliage like morning dew, churning Kagome's stomach a bit more; any thoughts of the inu lord's previous actions forgotten.

She found her eyes drawn back towards the demon lord; watching as he analytically took in his surroundings, his face divest of emotion. The miko found herself holding her breath as those captivating eyes turned once more onto her; something flickering momentarily in their depths before he turned on heel to walk away, argent hair flipping over his shoulde. InuYasha watched the exchange with something akin to interest and envy in his eyes.

"Oi, dickwad, where're you goin'?" InuYasha's voice broke through her hazy mind. The inu lord stopped, throwing the hanyou a look over his shoulder.

"Naraku's trace has disappeared, little brother; in case you hadn't noticed. There is no need to linger here longer in your presence; I merely came to find out what happened." The condescending intonation in his voice was all too obvious to the group. He looked away, ignoring InuYasha's resounding growl and began to continue walking.

Kagome looked towards a silent Sango and Miroku before recalling what she'd put in her bag for the little girl,

"Oh! Um… Lord Sesshoumaru…" the youkai tilted his head back once more, looking at the miko over his shoulder; the rest of her group's eyes rested on her as well, consternated by her interruption of his departure. His expression didn't change, but he seemed less annoyed at her interference than InuYasha's, "I um… I have something to give Rin… I-If I may."

Sesshoumaru gave pause, thinking before giving a slow nod and continuing towards the edge of the clearing, not looking back to see if the young human followed him.

Kagome let her bag slip from her shoulder, digging into the front pocket to collect a sakura blossom bag she'd placed several small items into. Sango shot her a warning look, one with concern and worry to which Kagome gave a sheepish grin back,

"I won't be too long, I promise. I told Rin that I'd bring her something the next time I saw her," she explained diffidently.

Clutching the small pink cloth bag in her hand, she trotted after the inu youkai; the hem of her skirt flirting with the soft skin of her thighs. She tugged on her grey cardigan as she neared Sesshoumaru, watching the sway of his silver hair oscillate back and forth; it was rather… mesmerizing.

The youkai's actions returned to her in a jolt, her face flushing deep crimson behind him. Either he didn't remember, was ignoring them, or didn't want her to bring them up. Kagome refrained pulling a hand up to her neck, the spot itching. The Daiyoukai hesitated almost imperceptibly before forcing himself to continue, disregarding the want to look back.

"KAGOMEEEE!" the miko was jerked out of her trance by the young girls voice as she dropped from Ah-Un's back and ran towards her, launching herself into the older girl. Kagome laughed happily, hugging the small frame to her tightly.

"Kagome, Kagome! Welcome back! I missed you!" Kagome pulled back from the embrace, smoothing the bangs from the face of the flushed child, shining brown eyes gazed at her with open admiration.

"Rin, I brought something back for you," she smiled, kneeling to the ground and opening the pink cloth bag; she pulled out the items one by one, "This is a sketchbook, see how all the pages are threaded together? This way, you can keep all of your drawings in one place."

She suppressed a giggle at the look of excitement in Rin's expression, she knew choosing drawing items would be great for the young girl,

"These are to use with the sketchbook, they're called crayons – it's coloured wax molded into a cylinder—a long circle, rather."

"Oh wow! Kagome! I love them, I do! I do!"

Sesshoumaru stared at the two girls, tittering about the objects Kagome brought her; it was becoming clear that she had indeed not lied to him before, though he hadn't really doubted her. He would have been able to smell her lie; beings – especially humans – get a distinct smell when they lie; their sweat glands open more from nervous heat and excreted a smell that was sharply bitter. The Daiyoukai was pleased with the younger girls excitement, though he still wondered why the priestess showed Rin such kindness while other village members had not. _Of course, evermore questions in regard to this queer young future miko._

"Oh, but Rin, there is still a little bit more! I saved the best for last!" Kagome smiled as the young girls jaw dropped before grinning broadly, excited to have presents, especially things she'd never seen or knew existed (well, to her defense they didn't, at least not in her time).

Kagome drew out the disposable camera, she explained how the camera worked, holding it out in front of the two, aiming it towards them while telling Rin to smile; then clicked the shutter. Rin couldn't be more pleased with the gifts, brightening even further as Kagome showed her the candy stashed in the bottom of the pink bag;

"Now, don't eat it all at once! You're get a reaaaallly big tummy ache if you do."

Rin nodded grimly, her face set so seriously that Kagome burst out laughing and ruffled the girl's hair,

"You're so cute," she pulled the Western Lord's ward into a tight embrace, having it happily reciprocated. Rin pulled away and froze momentarily before sneezing twice, burying her nose into the crook of her yukata's elbow.

"Bless you!" Kagome chirped with a smile, _Jeez! Even the girl's sneezes are adorable!_

Rin graced her yet again with a broad smile.

Sesshoumaru felt a little twinge while he watched the girls, Kagome explaining the instructions on how to use this mysterious Kam-mer-rah. His sharp hearing caught the mechanical clicks inside the device, he saw a small black flap flicker behind the glass; watching completely intrigued (internally of course) as Kagome 'wound' the 'film,' a series of annoying clicks resounded around the two in front of him.

Kagome flipped a glance over her shoulder, catching the demon lord's eye. She paused, entranced in his wine coloured eyes. The inu youkai stared back, him impassive mask not once leaving his face; Kagome always wondered what went on inside his calculating head. She thought about how tough it must be, articulating every word into every sentence, and thinking everything through before speaking. She wondered if he knew how freeing it felt to just let yourself talk, say the first thing on your mind.

She lowered her eyes respectively, a slight flush coloured her cheeks lightly, azure eyes searching the blades of grass she sat upon. Oh how easy it was to get lost staring at a living work of art. There was a kami laughing somewhere having made Sesshoumaru so beautiful and yet so malevolent.

"Miko, why did you bring these items?"

Kagome startled at the inu lord's voice, flicking her gaze back to him,

"What do you mean?" she replied stupidly, _Ah yes, Kagome, ever the genius conversationalist… smooth._ It was merely that she hadn't expected to hear him speak in the moment and her brain hadn't had the required time to comprehend before she spoke.

Sesshoumaru's cider-hued eyes narrowed ever-so slightly, he was clearly not too impressed at her confounded tone,

"Why, miko, did you bring these things for Rin," he clarified monotonously.

Kagome blinked,

"Because she helped me… Because I said I would and because I wanted to."

The inu youkai seemed to contemplate her answer, staring unblinkingly at her before nodding once and turning that ethereal face away from her. She felt a momentary disappointment before shaking herself out of it and looking back to Rin who, at the moment, was taking photos of various flowers around the clearing.

That lent her a little smile as she watched the joyous girl. She pulled herself to her feet as Rin turned and took a shot of her brushing her hair behind her ear. Rin called across the clearing, asking Kagome if the herb she currently held in her small hand helped heal cuts. As Kagome made her way over to the young girl, she noticed it seemed Sesshoumaru was perceptibly ignoring them now; reclining indolently against a tree trunk that shaded him from the sun.

_I wonder how his skin stays so white… He's always travelling as we are as far as I know, but he never seems to even hint to a colour darker than vanilla cream…_

She turned away from the Lord, a soft blush tinting her cheeks prettily. Kagome told Rin about a few herbs to help with belly-aches and small cuts; explaining each that she could find in the clearing. Rin listening intently, only turning away once to sneeze, shaking her head after and sniffing softly. Kagome smiled,

"Watch out for that pollen, it makes a lot of people sneeze."

Kagome made her way back to the group in good spirits after bidding the girl and Jaken goodbye and calling her farewell to the Lord, who – predictably – ignored it.

She walked beside Sango as they continued their way along the path and further from the battleground. By the time Kagome had returned, Inuyasha had already finished digging their graves and Miroku and Sango had laid them, saying a prayer as they finished.

"Sorry for skipping out of the workload guys; I did still have to repay Rin for her niceness," Kagome spoke, holding her palms together in an apology.

"Feh," InuYasha turned his face off to the side, his hands tucked deep into the sleeves of his fire rat haori, "If I were you, I wouldn't have left anywhere with that bastard, for any reason. He can't be trusted."

Kagome placed her index finger to her lip, cerulean blue eyes floating to look at the sky as she recalled him keeping such a protective eye on Rin and carefully examining the things Kagome gave her.

"He's actually not all that bad once you get to know him."

"WHAT?!" InuYasha whirled around, his tone incredulous and expression brimmed with disbelief,

"Uhh, earth to Miko, that asshole tried to kill you before, y'know?!"

"Well yes, I remember that, InuYasha, but if you recall, we weren't exactly laying out the welcome mat either…"

"HE WANTED MY SWORD!"

Kagome glared at him,

"YOU COULDN'T EVEN PULL THE DAMN THING OUT! It wasn't _yours_ until I gave it to you."

InuYasha looked dumbfounded by her words, seemingly lost as to what to say,

"Yeah – but.. Uh, I mean…"

Kagome crossed her arms and 'hmph'ed her displeasure, turning from him and continuing to walk ahead.

"What the hell are you even defending that bastard for anyway?! Huh?! I bet your dream was about him, wasn't it?! WELL IF YOU LIKE HIM SO MUCH YOU SHOULD JUST GO BE WITH HIM ALREADY!" InuYasha forced out angrily, fists clenched tightly.

Kagome whirled on him, angry thrumming through her body, and jabbed her finger towards him,

"SIT!"

She fisted her hands at her sides, her muscles in her biceps bunched together,

"Don't make claims on how I feel or speak of things you know nothing about! Right now, even he would be better company than you!"

Miroku, Sango and Shippou followed after Kagome as she turned on heel, her shoulders drawn up in anger. Shippou casually glanced back at an earth-bound InuYasha and sighed heavily, shaking his head with his hands on his hips before turning and walking away from the softly groaning hanyou.

InuYasha and Kagome continued to ignore each other for the next few days to come, both feeling slighted by the other. Come night, as they made their camp, Kagome noticed InuYasha looking around and generally feeling antsy. She quirked a brow but refused to be the one to break their silent streak to ask him what was wrong; let him suffer with his anxieties himself. She knew if it were really that important that he'd tell the group as a whole.

She laid her sleeping bag out beneath the starry sky that night, the light from the campfire still dancing around her. Shippou had long since fallen asleep, and Sango and Miroku weren't very far behind. As the miko stretched out, she glanced back towards the hanyou who still waiting anxiously in the tree. Her eyes narrowed as she softly pouted before turning over and laying down with her back to him. Despite the hour, her body felt tired but her mind reeled in thoughts; guaranteed to keep her awake for the next little while.

It was no more than a half hour later that Kagome heard a rustle from the leaves growing on the branch InuYasha had sat. She heard his softly land at the base of the trunk, pausing for ten full seconds before bounding off. Kagome rolled over and sat up, looking first to the branch, then to InuYasha's retreated red back, rubbing at one eye tiredly. She glanced to her sleeping friends before climbing silently to her feet and slipping on her shoes on to follow. She had a bad feeling about where he was going, but if there was a demon in their presence, she wanted to be of some help to him.

Kagome obviously didn't have the speed it took to keep up with the half demon and followed at a jog, staying far enough behind that he wouldn't hear her behind him. He hadn't gone far before two gleaming soul collectors swirled through the air around him, seeming to almost playfully circle the hanyou. Kagome felt her breath hitch in her bosom, knowing that InuYasha was sneaking off to see Kikyou and _seeing_ him do it were two very different things.

InuYasha stepped closer to the edge of the path, embracing the miko with red hakama and a white haori; her hair tied low with loose strands hanging beside her face. The young women slid her arms smoothly around the hanyou's torso, pulling him close to her body, her face hidden in his shoulder. InuYasha lowered his face to her hair, inhaling her scent and trailing his arm around her shoulders, his honey-hued eyes sliding closed. He drew back and brought a hand to her face, lifting her chin gently before lowering his face.

The miko could watch no more. She pulled her hand to her chest, clenching it into a fist and squeezing her eyes shut for a moment. She thought she would cry as emotion whelmed in her chest. To the girls surprise, she felt anger thrumming through her veins, overtaking the sadness, the sense of loss. All the time she'd spend daydreaming of her 'growing' relationship with InuYasha, the few kisses they shared, the embraces and worry… All of it, a waste.

Kagome opened her azure eyes, a certain finality apparent as she jutted her jaw, lifted her nose and walked back towards the campsite.

_I guess this is a stage of grief… denial maybe, or anger? People do go through grief differently, and the stages don't come in the same order. Four years… Four years I've put up with his indecisiveness… Through so many adventures and so many pains. We became close and learned so much about each other._ Kagome's gait slowed, her head and shoulders dropping slightly, her mind spinning,

_I…I can't do this… No, not anymore. But…. I don't think I know how to love anyone else._


	4. Encumbrance and youkai blood

Kagome awoke the next morning feeling mentally and physically exhausted and just generally… off. The Inutachi mulled about the site while preparing to pack up and leave to continue their journey to the next town. Kagome hitched her backpack up high on her shoulders, holding the straps to slightly lessen the pressure on her back.  
"Is everyone ready?" She attempted to smile cheerfully.

"Kagome… Did you get much sleep last night?" the taijiya scrutinized her friend's face, "you're eyes are puffy and you seem… tired."

"What? Nawww, I'm fine!" She tried harder at a convincing smile, tucking a stray lock of raven hair behind her ear. Shippou jumped to her shoulder, peeking around her face as Kagome chuckled nervously,  
"Well well, what're we waiting for? Let's continue!"

Sango glanced to Miroku, who looked back with a frown, shrugging lightly; he could only half understood women at the best of times.

It seemed about high noon when they finally came to a rest, InuYasha preparing a fire to cook the fish they'd caught in a nearby stream so the friends could eat lunch. Kagome had her knees drawn up, eyes lost looking into the fire with a slight pout pushing her bottom lip forward. Her gazed narrow as she breath a soft sigh through her nose; her fish long forgotten speared on the stick in her hand.

"I'm worried about Kagome," Sango spoke in low intonation to Miroku, her brown eyes clearly portraying her concern, "what do you think happened? I mean… Besides the fights with InuYasha, but none of that's too out of the ordinary. Something happened last night, I just know it."

Miroku peeked at Kagome, her sullen expression, being a million miles away, then to the hanyou, who seemed to be blatantly outright ignoring her. The houshi chewed on the inside of his lower lip,  
"Maybe something _did_ happen last night… Maybe after we fell asleep something conspired between our two favorite protagonists… But surely if it ended in sorrow, it would have ended in anger first and we all would have awoken."

Sango turned her gaze to the ground,  
"I just feel so helpless, I want to help her like she always helps us."

Miroku smiled, stepping up beside Sango and patting her shoulder,  
"There there, we all want to help her," his tone bright as he reached a lecherous hand forward to stroke Sango's behind.

The taijiya stiffened, her eyes closing as a scowl settled onto her face, her muscles bunching and cording in her back,  
"Yes… You seem so truthful," she fisted a hand, conking him viciously on the head, immediately ending his act of stupidity immediately, "Every time! I swear!"

InuYasha froze, lifting his nose to the air with a soft scowl and sniffing. More out of sheer habit than anything else, Kagome glanced back, drawn from her thoughts by Sango's irritated voice,  
"What's wrong, InuYasha?"

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me," he growled, staring hard at the sky; eyes gaining a predatory gleam.  
Kagome turned her gaze skyward and squinted, opening her mind to allow her power to travel. She concentrated hard before drawing in a hard breath,  
"Sesshoumaru?"

Sango whirled around, eyes wide,  
"He's coming here?"

As if summoned, a bright light streaked across the sky, zigzagging slightly before plummeting to the ground near the group, the sphere of light rupturing as it made contact, fading into the form of the Dog Lord. Sesshoumaru opened yellowed eyes, immediately taking a few steps towards Kagome. Ah-Un landed with a far less flashy display than the Daiyoukai, huffing slightly through the muzzles covering their noses and mouths.

"What the hell are YOU doing here, asshole?!" InuYasha growled, interposing himself between the human and demon. The hanyou's hand strayed to his father's fang sheathed at his side.

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes in irritation at InuYasha, clearly unimpressed at the half-demon staking his claim, displaying dominance over Kagome- not that she'd really understand it. The human more than likely thought the InuYasha was protecting her. His eyes began to tint red,  
"I do not have time for your insolence today, Brother; remove yourself or I will decimate your being completely from this plane of existence."

InuYasha growled deeply, drawing Tessaiga in one smooth motion, his eyes set low and hard in a deep scowl.  
"InuYasha, wait!" Kagome commanded, _Why is Sesshoumaru here? What does he want with me?_  
InuYasha glared at her over his shoulder at the miko,  
"Are you insane? He's going to try to kill you!"

Kagome regarded him skeptically then turned her gaze onto the silver haired youkai  
"What is it, Lord Sesshoumaru?"

Sesshoumaru turned that intense gaze towards her and Kagome fought the urge to shiver, that predatory look threatening to consume her,  
"Miko, excuse this encumbrance but this Sesshoumaru requires your finesse."

InuYasha's jaw almost unhinged from his face, his eyes surprised and confused as his gaze interchanged between the two, Kagome's expression showing her disbelief too.  
_The Great Lord Sesshoumaru needs the expertise of a_human_girl?!_ Her thoughts spun stereotypically around his apparent dislike of humans.  
"What… Did you need… from me…" She forced out.

"You don't need to do anything for him!" InuYasha spat out, his fists clenching tightly. Sango spoke up as well, Miroku looking concerned at her side,  
"I agree with InuYasha, Kagome… You owe him nothing."

Sesshoumaru gazed dully at her friends, hiding his displeasure merely for the purpose that he needed the miko. Kagome flipped between InuYasha, to Sango and Miroku, down to Shippou, then back to Sesshoumaru; looking each of them in the eyes for half a second until she settled on the dog lord.

It was quiet only a second more before Sesshoumaru spoke again; he needed to convince this future miko to help his ward, though she would come with him regardless of her decision,  
"Rin needs you. She's been febrile for days and is resistant to any herb she's been given."

Kagome's eyes widened, _She's been sick for days? For Sesshoumaru to be here, it must be bad… In my time it's rare for people to die of the common cold, but here in feudal japan it's not all that uncommon. We take for granted the invention of current medicine. OH! That must be why he needs me, he wont trust her with a normal human healer… And I have me medicine from the future as well!_  
A determined expression splashed over her face and she nodded, needing no further convincing,  
"Okay. I'll come with you."

"OH FOR FUCK SAKES, KAGOME! YOU DON'T NEED TO HELP EVERYONE!" InuYasha burst out angrily, "So what, you're just going to up and leave for God knows HOW long, to help THIS asshole? Right when we're so close to Naraku? Where are your priorities!"

Kagome pinned him with a glare and stalked up to face the hanyou, her voice low and dangerous,  
"At least I leave in broad daylight and don't sneak off in the middle of the night," she growled. Miroku, Sango and Shippou all portrayed similar looks of shock and confusion, "My priorities will always lie in saving a life than playing shard seeker for you. You don't even need me anymore, do you? Why don't you have your **dead girlfriend** lead you?!"

InuYasha took a step back,  
"W-What? I didn't… How… How did you know about that?!"

Kagome sniffed at him and turned towards her friends,  
"I'm sorry to delay, but I need to go help Rin… She's such an innocent, cute girl."

Miroku smiled softly,  
"We do understand, Kagome; but are you… sure you want to go alone?"

Kagome flicked a glance at Sango, her cheeks flushing a bit before looking to the ground,  
"Don't worry," she looked up with a confident smile, "Nothing bad will happen."

"She will be under this Sesshoumaru's protection in exchange for her service," the inu lord clarified, directing his comment at the houshi. Miroku examined Sesshoumaru for a moment before nodding in acknowledgement.

InuYasha turned to the group, his tone dripping with venom and distaste,  
"You are **all** going to go along with this?! What about **our** mission?"

Sango shot him a glare,  
"InuYasha, a little girl is sick. If we can help, we should; I see no wrong in Kagome helping Lord Sesshoumaru's ward. Herb gathering is one of a miko's capabilities and knowing which ones will cure sickness. Plus, there's also Kagome's fu…ture medication that will probably work way better than the cures we've found for our ailments in this time." She stumbled over her words until she remembered that Sesshoumaru knew about Kagome being from the 500 years to come, her mind recalling the story of him waiting for her to appear out of the well. Miroku glanced at the women he loved in slight shock before noticing that only he and InuYasha seemed left out of the loop about Sesshoumaru knowing.

"I don't care, Kagome you're staying and that's final!" he growled, his velvety ears slicked back against his head. Kagome turned to look at the inu, her expression seemed almost neutral, her eyes blank. InuYasha took a hesitative half-step back from her figure.

Kagome raised icey blue eyes to stare into his,  
"Sit boy." Her tone flat, she watched as the hanyou pitched forward into the grassy ground with a half-formed noise of mixed pain and irritation. She stared down at the boy she'd loved for the last four years, her mind barren of any thoughts,  
"Do not assume to order me around, InuYasha. I'm my own person, and regardless of what era we're both from, for the amount of time together you should've long ago realized I'm not yours to control. I'm not yours in any way…"

The young girl turned back towards her friends and gave a half-hearted smile, leaning down to grab her yellow backpack and sling it over one shoulder,  
"I'm sorry guys, really… I…" her voice died off.

Sango noticed a different demeanor in her best friend and gave her a sad smile, she knew this regarded more than her trip with Sesshoumaru,  
"We'll be waiting, whatever you decide, Kagome," the double meaning behind her words hidden for all but the two of them who were so close is was easy to decipher each other's heart.

Sesshoumaru watched Kagome earnestly as she slowly approached Ah-Un. It was the closest she'd been to this beast, and though it was muzzled, she was cautious. She knew it could breathe fire regardless of the guard. He held back his thoughts of telling her to hurry, merely in consciousness of her decision to help willingly. If he were honest, watching her use subjugation on his brother – though at one point he thought it disgusting and humiliating that he was related to InuYasha; and more so at one of partial royal blood being controlled by a human – was quite amusing, especially after the hanyou prolonged his request.

Kagome felt her breath hitch as the dragon took to the air, hanging onto the reigns tightly. Sesshoumaru didn't speak to her as they flew, his mind intent on getting back to the sick Rin. He would've sent Jaken to get Kagome if he'd known it would've been this easy to get her to agree and instead stayed with his ward.

The miko watched the inu youkai, his golden eyes gleaming with a strong determination. The hard set of his lips pressed together, his jaw clenched beneath those thick magenta strokes. Kagome swallowed hard, her hands tightening on the strap of leather running against her palms. A light blush tinted high in her cheeks as she watched his moon-kissed hair lashing in a brutal dance with the wind. She forcibly turned her stormy blue eyes away, and sigh softly, her mind suddenly filled with InuYasha.  
_They look so similar, but they couldn't be more different…_ Her bottom lip pushed forward slightly, a morose ambiance touching her eyes, _Four years… Man I'm such an idiot. Chasing a half demon who will never full look at the real me – can't fully look at the real me. Ever since the beginning I could see that glaze over his eyes when he sees his old –and I guess current- lover in my being. I can't do it anymore… I'm not that strong. No one is when it comes to the person they love. You can't choose us both, InuYasha. I may not know much, but I know I'm worth more than that._Kagome sighed sullenly, coming back to herself enough to realize that they were descending.  
_I guess this is it. It is goodbye, InuYasha. Good bye to my first love…_

Sesshoumaru peeked at the silent miko out of the corner of his eye, he could sense the miko's inner turmoil, distress and sadness rolling off her in waves so large it made the front of his head hurt.  
_Why is this girl's sadness so great? What is she thinking about? This Sesshoumaru cares not to feel her distress so incessantly…Why does it seem this miko plagues me with nothing but more questions?_  
His golden eyes narrowed slightly as he looked away, attempting to turn her out.

The youkai landed softly, striding forward into the large mouth of a cave. Jaken jumped to his feet,  
"M'Lord! You have returned!"

"How is Rin."

"Not good I'm afraid, mylord. Her fever hasn't broken in two days now…"

Sesshoumaru moved past him as Kagome entered the cavity, kneeling down beside the young girl. Rin's face was blotched red, her small body shaking with cold sweat. Sesshoumaru reached out, letting the back of his hand brush against her cheek momentarily before sitting back against the wall to observe.

_Did… Did Sesshoumaru just check her temperature?_ Kagome's mind reeled as she walked closer. Upon clearly seeing the girl, all thoughts of anything else disappeared as she rushed forward and dropped to her knees,  
"Rin! Oh my goodness…" She slid her backpack from her shoulders, reaching to grab the cloth soaking in a bowl of chilled water near the child. Kagome wrung the extra water from the cloth before softly dabbing the sweat from Rin, "You poor thing…"

Sesshoumaru watched as she pulled several things out of her bag – some very mysterious looking – and finally settled on a medium-sized white box with a red cross on it. She popped the clips and pulling the top open,  
_What weird material is that made out of… It doesn't smell like wood, and it bends. But nor is it stone, yet on examination it is hard…_ Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed; he wasn't pleased with the ever-growing bounty of questions swirling silently in his mind. Though it was not commonly known, Sesshoumaru was indeed an inquisitive demon.

The sterile smell coming from the abstruse box had Sesshoumaru repressing the urge to crinkle his nose. From what he could see, there was more /- weird packaging in the box, also white, some parts shiny and slippery looking as if they were wet.  
_How much different from now is the future? Even in the past years of my life it has not changed all that much…_

He was jerked from his thoughts as she pulled on two tabs that contained a small pad, a soft chemical smell exuded over the scent of the synthesized plastics. Kagome pulled another two tabs from the back of this flat pad and leaned over Rin face, jerking to a stop when she heard a low rumble emanating from the inu youkai. Kagome lifted her gaze to Sesshoumaru who had narrow eyes pinned to her, his optics gleaming dangerously in the twilight of the den.

Kagome sighed,  
"It's a cooling pad, S-Lord Sesshoumaru. You stick it to a sick person's forehead when they have a fever and it takes place of laying a cold cloth there."

Sesshoumaru gave pause, letting the rumbling die down in his thorax. Kagome took from that episode that she'd have to speak out loud for everything she was going to do. After placing the cooling pad she pulled out a couple pouches of dried herbs and a pot from her yellow backpack, setting them aside before moving back to the first aid box.  
"Jaken, I need you to please start a fire, and fill this with water," Kagome's voice was strong and steady as she worked, grabbing out a bottle that's contents rattled softly when disturbed, holding a pot out to the imp to fill. Jaken looked back and forth between Sesshoumaru to Kagome, unsure of what to do until Sesshoumaru pinned him with an intimidating look; the imp youkai jumping into action.

"I'm going to brew her a tea, Echinacea and Ginsing to both help with the immune system… Or rather, her body's internal protectors," Kagome stated, wondering if the two demons know what an immune system was since they never contracted colds, "with some Lavender and Feverfew to help take away her headache and muscle tension; and lastly… Thyme and Witch Hazel, for pain relief and inflammation."

Kagome mixed a pinch of each herb in a small bowl; some sprigs, some flowers and some already grounded, together and added a few drops of the liquidized Witch Hazel from her first aid kit; grabbing a pack of tea filters from her bag to hold the concoction before grinding it. She reached over and gripped the filled pot Jaken had placed near her, balancing it over the small fire until the water boiled before removing a cup from her bag to fill. Sesshoumaru's gaze never left Kagome as she worked silently, already having explained what each herb offered.

While the tea steeped, Kagome handled the bottle of acetaminophen she had previously gathered from her kit, popping the cap off with what looked like an over-exaggerated movement to the youkai and tapped two tablets into her hand, capping the bottle.  
"This is called Acetominophen, in my time it's a medication used to reduce fever and is an anti-inflammatory… So it takes away pain." Kagome removed the tea bag from the diluted water and put it off to the side on a flat rock so it could be used to a second time and began blowing on the tea to cool it enough for the young girl to drink it easily.

_The girl is not a proper miko… She nor looks, speaks, or acts as one… But her knowledge of healing herbs grows greater. And this medication from the future… She knows much… Perhaps miko's of her time are as she is now?_

"Rin, you need to wake up for a second sweetheart," Kagome's soft voice broke through Sesshoumaru's thoughts, drawing him back to the den. He shifted forward, surprising Kagome who moved back slightly; and slipped his arm beneath the young girl, sitting Rin up while supporting her weight.

"Nnngh…" Rin's brown eyes slowly lifted to half mast, Sesshoumaru's image sharpening into contrast, " Ah, M-M'lord… You've returned." She smiled broadly, despite the fact her breaths came in short pants. Kagome watched the two, her heart thudding a little harder in her chest. She raised a clenched fist to her chest for a moment. _I knew he cared for her… But… This is the first time I've witnessed such a blatant display of his soft side… He's being so gentle with her. It's so… cute._

"Rin, I need you to take these into your mouth and swallow them with the tea I'm going to give you," Kagome instructed, earning a slightly confused look from the girl before her feverish brain allowed her a moment of respite and clarity. She nodded and did as she was told, cringing harshly with a mouthful of tea.

"Swallow, Rin." Though his baritone voice hard, his grip on her was soft and caring. Sesshoumaru's honeyed gaze stayed focused on her face as she forced the mouthful down and accepted another, shivering in distaste but finishing the cup none-the-less.

"Very good," coming from Sesshoumaru, that was considered of high praise.

Sesshoumaru rested Rin against his leg as he pulled the long sheath of fur from his shoulder, piling it on the floor of the cavern before laying the girl on it gently. Rin's eyes were closed and her breathing soft and slow as he laid her down, Kagome moving forward to examine her once more.

"Jaken, attain some food for when Rin awakens."

"Y-Yes my lord, right away! I will find the best nutrition a human could ever wish for! Food so delectable that only the mightiest of mighty can achieve!"

Sesshoumaru slid his dangerous gaze to the imp demon,  
"Then go."

"A-A-Aye, m'lord!" Jaken scrambled out of the aperture to the cave, the Staff of Two Heads swaying in the air became the only thing visible after he disappeared over the crest.

Kagome finished with Rin, sitting back on her heels she rapidly became very aware that she was essentially alone in the cave with the inu lord.  
"Why… Why did you… Do that before," Kagome asked cryptically, her gaze slowly lifting to find Sesshoumaru's acute focus on her, her eyes flashing to the side as a blush filled her cheeks.

The inu youkai was silent for the following seconds, so long that Kagome almost thought he would ignore her ambiguous question completely,  
" For a reason that remains elusive to this Sesshoumaru, my youki is attracted to you."

Kagome started, her wide optics searching his face for some hint of a joke. _His… Youki? His youki is attracted to__**me**__?! Wait… What does that even mean? All I know is that he just used 'attracted' and to me in the same sentence…_  
"Your… youki?"

Sesshoumaru pinned her with a phlegmatic stare, it seemed her lack of knowledge in the 'demon' department wasn't forgiven by her wealth knowledge from the future,  
"My blood - my demon aspect, if you will."

She gave a slow nod, looking at the ground; her lips pursed in thought,  
"So then… It's not really **you** that's attracted to me… But your demonic blood?"

Sesshoumaru gave a soft nod, Kagome – encouraged – continued,  
"But… you speak as if you're two beings?"

"This Sesshoumaru's constitution holds a façade of entirety that isn't necessarily authentic," his tone was even, eye's unblinking as he spoke. Kagome's understanding dawned a little,  
"So then… You are like two beings."

Another short nod gave her an answer, but Sesshoumaru felt the need to explain it further or else she wouldn't completely understand,  
"It is the like the basics of instincts…This Sesshoumaru is but one, yet it feels foreign at times. There are times my 'blood' helps on it's own accord or rises from me, aroused by strong emotions."

"You have strong emotions?" Kagome slipped out before thinking that through, immediately pausing and attempting to retract her questions, "Ah… I-I mean… You know…"

"Yes, Miko, even I contain emotions. As surprising as that may be… I am merely better at hiding it than others."

"I just meant that, well, you're always so… controlled. Sometimes you have to wonder…"Kagome laughed slightly nervously, a hand going to the back of her head. Sesshoumaru reclined back against a slab of rock, his eyes finally turning their intense gaze away from her and to the mouth of the cave. Kagome examined his figure, contrasted in shadows from the den, those yellow eyes glowing softly. She admired the curving magenta strokes passing over his cheeks and above his eyes, mentally tracing the crescent and following down the line of his cheekbone.

_How is it possible for someone to be so… alluring. It's gotta be illegal__**somewhere**__to be that attractive. They are so similar… Looking at InuYasha, I can see Sesshoumaru in him… Looking at Sesshoumaru, I can see InuYasha; but they are so different too.. My heart aches for that loss, it's still too fresh. Looking at Sesshoumaru is like a constant reminder of that..._Kagome turned her eyes downcast, a pain in her chest sharply reminded her of her recent loss.

"Miko, what is it you think of with such feelings of turmoil?"

Kagome, roused from her thoughts by his voice, sighed, her heart retaining a hint of lingering pain. She was surprised by the fact that Sesshoumaru was so talkative, having mostly only heard threats or insults hurled InuYasha's way on their accidental (or purposeful on the inu youkai's part) meetings. She wasn't sure how she could talk to him about her situation, even if she had wanted to – which she didn't. Sesshoumaru rolled fluently into a crouch, bringing his face into close proximity of Kagome's. The miko consternated in surprise, a small squeak strangled from her throat as she fell back a bit.

"L-Lord Sesshoumaru?"

He blinked, cocking his head slightly to the side, his expression still as barren as always. It was then that Kagome noticed the slight red tinge to the inu youkai's eyes, her heart beginning to thud slightly harder.

"Why do you sit with such feelings of loneliness and dejection in front of me, but hold it in and speak no words of deliberation or conclusion?" This foreign Sesshoumaru inched forward, resulting in Kagome pushing herself further back.

"I-I don't know w-what you mean…" she stuttered, her heart fluttering in her chest.

Sesshoumaru lowered his face equate to hers, forcing her back to be flush to the wall; and still yet he advanced,  
"Your eyes are portray confusion and your expression is forlorn. You always leave me with so many questions, miko, but never any answers…"

Kagome blinked, her cheeks flushing as blood flooded her head making her feel a bit dizzy. The youkai lord lowered his face, his breath warming her lips, ardent yellow eyes consuming her field of vision. The miko's lip trembled, she squeezed her eyes shut; a soft whimper escaping her throat.

Sesshoumaru froze, his bewildered eyes widened. Kagome peeked out of one eye, catching his disconcerted expression, a rare break from his normal composure, before he pushed to his feet and promptly strode out of the den without another word to spare. The raven haired girl sat dumbstruck on the ground, unsure of what to think.  
_Did he just… almost… No. This is Sesshoumaru. But his face, that look… Oh my GOD what the hell just happened?!_ Kagome sank back against the wall, her blood still thrumming wildly through her, _Between the two of them, I don't know which one muddles my brain more._

The Daiyoukai ambulated the area around his pack's site, his mind whirring. He stopped and looked down at his open palm, feeling as if his body itself was foreign to him.  
_How intriguing. Why does my blood react so strongly to her? I do not understand. This is the second time I have lapsed in my complete control._

Sesshoumaru let his arm drop to his side, holding in a sigh of both exasperation and frustration, turning his gaze skyward to the darkening dusk. _Miko, you leave me once again only with more questions and no answers. This Sesshoumaru is displeased._

Sango turned disbelieving eyes onto InuYasha as her best friend disappeared into the skyline with the hanyou's youkai half-brother. She was slowly coming back to herself, an anger like no other filling her.

InuYasha pushed himself to his feet, his face set in a defiant scowl as he brushed a bit of dust off of his shoulder. Sango pushed her way past Miroku, seething with so much anger that her eyes filled with tears. She fisted her right hand, drawing back and catching the hanyou completely off guard by giving him a right hook that any man would admire.

InuYasha reeled back, stumbling a few steps before regaining his balance and throwing Sango an incredulous look,  
"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Sango advanced on his again, her teeth bared and jaw clenched tight, letting out a roar of indignation as the red-clad demon caught her punch, immediately switching to her left hand to attempt to combat him; InuYasha easily thwarting her,  
"What the hell Sang- "

"**YOU BASTARD! YOU FUCKING BASTARD HOW COULD YOU!**" Sango cried in frustration, jerking back against his grip on her fists. InuYasha let go, allowing her to beat almost frantically on his chest, pushing him back. He let her do it, take out the anger she felt on him, knowing he deserved it. He turned his gaze away, his white ears drawing back to his head in submission.

Miroku recovered from the shock and ran forward, dragging Sango off,  
"Sango! It's okay, please, stop…" he pleaded softly to her, pulling her far enough away that she turned and collapsed against him, tears flowing freely, her heart breaking for her sister. Miroku slid to the ground, clutching his distraught love to him tightly. He shot a glare at InuYasha who stood nearby, his face lowered so his bangs hid his eyes, the muscle in his jaw clenched tight.

Shippou shook with anger, tears crowding his eyes,  
"InuYasha, you suck!" he shouted, sniffing and raising a balled hand to fist his eye viciously.

InuYasha turned away from the group, slowly moving towards the woods,  
"I know… I'm going to… Spend a couple days away from this place," and with that, the hanyou lept off, pushing himself hand off the balls of his feet.

Sesshoumaru was reluctant to leave the immediate area while Jaken was gone and Rin was downed by a cold. He planted himself at the crown of the cave, recumbent against a tree a few meters from the edge. The Daiyoukai closed his irradiate eyes, listening to the trees whisper around him, the wind softly kissing his cheeks, tugging at his argent hair. He felt complacent in his current position, vaguely wondering about how he would react if he were to return inside the den.

The miko sat beside Rin, brushing her bangs away from her hot, slightly sticky face; wringing the cold cloth once more to wipe at her febrile skin. She sighed softly and wondered where Sesshoumaru had gotten off to.  
_I wonder if it's something I did… well, I mean, truth be told I didn't do anything but… He looked a bit freaked out._ Kagome sighed, her mind turning to other less pleasant thoughts; her mood plummeting from confused into depressed. She hugged her knees tight to her chest and let out a sigh, her azure gaze drawing to the near dark light filtering in from the cave mouth. The miko flipped a log onto the fire as a second thought, watching the embers char the wood, crackling the moisture inside it.

She checked the girls temperature once more, feeling something soft under the hand she propped herself up on. Kagome glanced down, realizing it was Sesshoumaru's length of fur left behind to pad the girls bedding and keep her warm.

Kagome drew back from the young girl, an inquisitive look on her face as she gazed down at the fur, becoming quickly intrigued. She lowered a hand and stroked it gently, the fur pushing back against her hand, puffing through the gaps between her fingers. She rubbed her hand back and forth, feeling the feather soft tickling against the palm of her hand. She looked down thoughtfully before laying down beside the sick girl, resting her head and shoulder on abundance of puff, curling around Rin.

The miko closed her eyes, exhaling a sigh of exhaustion; when she drew in, Sesshoumaru's scent surrounded her, enveloping her body and senses. Kagome clutched the fur tighter to her body,  
_He smells like…a forest after a heavy rain… A storm. With a hint of the bitter bite of snow, _Kagome opened her azure eyes, a cream coloured landscape filling her vision, _He smells… wonderful…_

Kagome shifted, a tingle travelling her body and settling near her groin making her blush. She had to admit, it was kind of a turn on to be surrounded by a man's scent – albeit a youkai man. Kagome closed her eyes once more, soon falling into a deep slumber; the young demon's ward sleeping beside her.

Sesshoumaru decided he wanted to visually check on Rin when he felt the activity in the cave hit it's lowest. Only the soft sounds of breathing emitted from the silence into the dark. The Daiyoukai advanced slowly, his silent steps bringing him only closer to the two females sleeping soundly.

The inu youkai looked down at Rin's face, her hair still slightly damp from sweating so much earlier, her yukata loosened slightly to breathe easier, but otherwise a peaceful view. His burnished gaze flicked to the miko who was curled around the younger girl in a motherly position. She had her right arm draped over Rin, clutching into the fur on the other side. Her peaceful expression as she held Rin in their unconscious state brought forward a surprising urge for the inu to protect them both. Sesshoumaru traced down Kagome's body, devouring her in his sight; her slightly wrinkled, thing looking haori to her slightly rumpled skirt that rode up her long, slender legs.

Sesshoumaru huffed slightly and planted himself against the wall on the far side of Rin, allowing the last embers of the fire to fade away, though that didn't affect his sight in the least. Glaring out of the interstice of the cave, Sesshoumaru allowed his gaze to slid back to the girls, his head still turned forward once more before he forced them away again.  
_This appears it will be more of an encumbrance to this Sesshoumaru than previously thought._


	5. If that is what you wish

CHAPTER 5

Kagome stirred lazily from her sleep, surrounded by the softest bedding she'd ever owned. She gripped at her blankets and drew them tighter against her, inhaling happily. The miko froze, her eyes popping open; _Pine, rain and…winter snow?_ All around her was Sesshoumaru's fur, a sign of royalty clearly displayed generally on his shoulder. She felt a soft heat radiating from Rin's body under her arm.

Kagome pushed herself into a sitting position; abrading one eye with a fisted hand she glanced around the den, dawn just peeking through the mouth. Rin's skin seemed to have gained a healthier colour, and her fever had gone down quite a bit. She'd still have to rest this day and probably the next, but it seemed she'd be fine.

The miko turned her stormy gaze to the inu lord who was currently recumbent against the wall far from her, his honeyed orbs closed to reveal those magenta strokes over his eyes. Kagome stared at him for a couple seconds, lost in looking at the elegance and refinement that was Sesshoumaru. His head was dipped low, argent bangs sloping forward into his face, a couple locks of silver hair twisted and rippled around his shoulders.

Kagome cocked her head to one side;_ He looks so much less threatening without the fur… Smaller somehow… More… Reachable._

Sesshoumaru jerked awake, his eyes immediately landing on Kagome who, in turn, startled and let out a small 'Eep!', her face filling with a colour akin to the red of his haori. The Daiyoukai's gaze lingered for a moment before he turned away to look at the aperture of the den; his marmoreal skin softly illuminated in the morning light.

"Is there something about this one's presence that disturbs you, Miko?"

"… N-No, not really…"

"Yet you continue to stare."

The inu youkai flicked his eyes toward the priestess, who's face glowed deeper, and stood in one continuous motion, slightly amazing Kagome who looked like an unoiled tin man when she got to her feet in the morning. He turned from her and proceeded to stride towards the open air.

"Ah Se-Lord Sesshoumaru, wait!" Kagome scrambled to her feet as the Daiyoukai flipped her a look over his shoulder, "Where are you going?"

"To get Rin some nourishment," his tone was even and low, encouraging Kagome.

"May I… come with you?"

The inu youkai seemed to give pause, thinking before replying with a curt nod and turning away. Kagome dashed to her yellow pack, digging out a small fishing line and following quickly after Sesshoumaru.

He lead them, in what Kagome felt, was an awkward silence. The stream he'd brought them to was close to the den, but wooded off so Kagome couldn't see it. She didn't worry all that much about it, Sesshoumaru's youki would ward off many of the small youkai, and anything else, both of them would sense (of course, those one's would have to be suicidal to attempt something with the Daiyoukai's ward). Sesshoumaru moved to a shady spot beneath an elm tree, reclining meritoriously against its trunk.

Kagome looked questioningly at the lord, than the river, comprehension finding her causing a twitch to jump in her left eyebrow,  
_I guess __**I'm**__ the one who will be doing the fishing then_; she knelt by the edge, unravelling her line with several gleaming silver hooks attached on adjoining pieces of line towards the bottom, feathers long since abused by the waters of the feudal time curling stiffly about them.

_Dammit… I should have stayed with Rin and let him do it… I don't think I can picture Sesshoumaru carrying fish back…_ Kagome paused, attempting to think of the always-elegant, aloof inu youkai carrying even a single fish,  
"… PFFFFFFFFFTTT!" Kagome pressed a hand to her mouth, earning an apathetic stare from Sesshoumaru, which made her laugh harder.

"Oh that's too good…" Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow while Kagome continued to laugh to herself, beginning to wonder what was so funny.

"Miko, what do you laugh at? There is nothing overtly humorous about a stream that this Sesshoumaru can see…"

"The thought o-of you… pffft, carrying a fish!" Sesshoumaru threw her a flat stare, now completely uninterested and turned his gaze to the other side, away from the laughing girl, seeing it unfit to reply to her mirth.

Kagome composed herself into little spurts of giggles, throwing her line into the stream, the end secured by looping it around her hand a couple times.  
It took a little bit, but eventually the feathers seemed to do their job as Kagome tried to bob the line only to meet resistance,  
"Ah! I got something!"

The miko planted her feet, drawing back on the line hard, whatever was hooked on the other end held strong and fought her, Sesshoumaru turned his eyes to watch her struggle,  
"Holy... Must be some fish…" she grunted, pulling hard, the line digging a series of painful zigzags around her hand, "Will you… just come… OUT!"

The line gave suddenly, Kagome hitting the ground hard on her backside with a loud 'Ouf,' the hooks landing near her covered in grimy, algae encompassed stream weeds,

"Miko, you have caught a plant," Sesshoumaru spoke, stating the obvious.

Kagome threw a heated glare, hearing that slight mocking intonation,  
"As if I couldn't tell."

The priestess huff in irritation, blowing her skewed bangs out of her face; pushing herself to her feet, turning back to the lord with her hand stationed moodily on her hip,  
"If you're such a professional, let's see **you** fish!"

Sesshoumaru looked up at her from underneath shimmering argent bangs, rolling to his feet, never once breaking eye contact. The youkai flicked his hand from his long haori sleeve, the claws on his index and middle lithe fingers glowing an intimidating dangerous green. Kagome took a hesitant half-step back, her azure eyes perceptibly widening. The miko couldn't help but flinch, bringing her hands up to protect her face while letting out a small squeak as Sesshoumaru severed the air to the side of him, the crack of his acid whip hitting the water pierced her ears.

The priestess peeked out of one eye, her hand slowly lowering. Sesshoumaru hit the water again, stunning the fish in the immediate vicinity which surfaced on their sides, unmoving. The inu youkai flicked his wrist three more times, each time the glowing strand wrapping around the fish's tail, flipping it out of the water and onto the ground between the couple.

Kagome looked as stunned as the fish that lay in front of her, the wind tugging gently at her skirt. The demon held her gaze a moment longer before turning on heel with a soft,  
"Come," before heading off back towards the path to the den, his voice hardened. Kagome had a brief moment where she wondered if he'd seemed slightly… offended.

It only took a moment of watching that silver hair fluctuate for a second before she grounded herself, mumbling something incoherent about rude, abrasive dog demons as she leaned down to pick of the fish.

It just happened that in that exact moment, the fish came back to themselves, wriggling and flopping around viciously causing Kagome to startle, jump back and scream girlishly fading into an growl of irritation. If she'd been so graced to have been 10 meters north, she would've seen a very slight, but noticeable, smirk slide over an ethereal face.

The fact that _she_ was the one carrying the fish back did not go unnoticed by her.

Rin grinned broadly as Kagome entered the den, the embers of last night's fire had been stoked into a flame, most likely by a certain demon reclining against the wall,  
"Welcome back, Kagome!" the young girl chimed. The miko smiled in response, resisting the intense urge to toss the fish in her hand at the sitting inu youkai. She instead, grabbed the pot from her bag to drop them into so they wouldn't become dirty,  
"How are you feeling, Rin?" the priestess asked her, azure gaze meeting her soft brown one.

"Rin's – I'm feeling much better, thank you so much!"

"Not at all, anytime! I'm just happy you're feeling better is all," Kagome let her relief flow into her tone, reaching over to grab three of their six roasting sticks after hand-checking the girl's temperature.

The miko speared and cooked the three fish, handing one to Rin with a vitamin C pill, and taking a second from the fire before hesitating. She glanced at the demon lord then back to the fish, a small frown assembled on her lips. Sesshoumaru ignored the girls uncertainty as long as he could, her feelings niggling in a small part of his brain,  
"Is there something you require, Miko?"

Kagome met those beautiful burnished eyes with her stormy ones, a precarious glint flashed in her gaze,  
"Um… Would you… Like one of the fish?" She stretched her arm towards him, tilting the stick in his direction.

"My gratitude," the lord responded, accepting the carp, gently pulling the stick out of her hand.  
_For his youkai strength, and his generally tough, scary exterior… He can be surprisingly gentle… I mean, I know it wasn't much, but for some reason, when it comes to Sesshoumaru, even having him take something from my hand feels like it should hurt._

"Uhh, yeah, no problem," she responded softly, her cheeks tinting a light pink; the young girl behind them looking on with an interest, silently deliberating the situation.

The Miko grabbed the last stick from the fire, absently wondering about the imp demon that had now been gone for hours over night. She turned back to watch Sesshoumaru intently as he took a small experimental bite, his contemplating eyes flicking back to her,  
"Yes, Miko?"

"O-Oh! Sorry… it's just… I've never really seen you eat much before…" She spoke, embarrassment colouring her tone and face.

Sesshoumaru watched the priestess squirm for a moment before turning away,  
"I do not require food as much as you humans do."

Kagome ignore the slight about being human and gave a soft nod. She was really surprised that she felt so comfortable in his presence with Rin, well, as long as he wasn't doing any funny stuff. Kagome took a bite of her fish, her thoughts turning to Shippou, InuYasha and the others.

_I wonder how everyone is… Poor Shippou is probably upset that I left. And Sango can't be too pleased either. But InuYasha… _the miko resisted clutching her hand to her chest as her heart squeezed painfully, _I don't want to see him… I can't see him anymore._

Sesshoumaru stood so abruptly he started Kagome from her reverie; without so much as a word the inu youkai left Kagome and Rin together staring after him.

_I wonder if maybe… Because of everything, Sesshoumaru doesn't want me here…_ Kagome mused sullenly, _One of his stature and power, who thrives of complete control; to lose even a little of it must be atrocious in his mind. Especially to a lowly mortal girl._  
The miko did not know why, but that last thought throbbed in her chest with an intangible feeling and settled like a figmental nausea in her stomach.

Sesshoumaru scented the air as he walked, making sure there would be no threats in the immediate vicinity to his ward and the miko during his jaunt. _Why does that human woman have such an effect on this Sesshoumaru? The mere scent of her sadness and confusion is enough to dredge up this one's inner youkai._ The demon pushed a clawed hand through his hair, silently enjoying the soft breeze that breathed along his face. He turned golden eyes to the river he had fished at with the miko that morning.

He stepped through the surrounding trees and came up short at the water's edge, peering into his own reflection. His own hazy wavering image stared back at him, the same cheerless expression he'd been taught to uphold mirrored in the water's depth. Sesshoumaru met his own honeyed gaze for a few minutes, introspecting deeply before scowling at himself and abruptly turning, striding off into the forest.

Shippou sniffed loudly, staring through watery eyes at his breakfast,  
"Miroku, do you think Kagome's ever going to come back?"

Miroku offered the fox demon a friendly smile,  
"Shippou, Kagome's only been gone for a day… I figure it'll be another couple days."

Sango frowned softly, looking into her bowl sadly. She breathed out a sigh through her nose, raising her brown eyes to her love who consoled the fox. _That's if she comes back…_ she finished his sentence in her head.

Miroku peeked at Sango from the corner of his perceptive eye, noticing her sullen attitude. He held back his own sigh, wondering what would happen between the InuTachi.

InuYasha gazed off into the cumulonimbus clouds from the branch he sat on. The red material of his hakama pushed leisurely against his legs, his white hair dancing erratically to the wind's beat. He clenched his fist tighter, feeling the sting of his claws biting into the calloused flesh of his palm. The hanyou scowled,  
_I don't understand…How could she have seen us? I was always so careful…_ InuYasha sighed outwardly, crossing his arms into the opposite sleeves of his haori, _Kagome… I didn't mean to hurt you. Really… And even now, after everything, I still don't want to lose you._

A determine look entered the hanyou's sunkissed eyes, _I will still fight for you, to have you stay by my side._

Sesshoumaru returned to the den to find the miko and his ward colouring pictures, Rin had another of those queer sterile smelling 'cooling pads' stuck to her forehead. Both girl's attention was drawn to the demon as he silently reclined against the wall as per usual. Kagome placed her crayon down and looked at her paper, then to Sesshoumaru again. The priestess sighed in an overtly exaggerated manner – turning towards Rin,  
"You're right, yours does look more like him than mine does," the miko pouted making Rin giggle. Sesshoumaru's curiosity perked up, his wine-hued eyes blinking over to the two. Both Rin and Kagome had – what looked to be –extremely poor pictures drawn of him, Rin's looked significantly better.

The demon blinked lazy eyes at the humans, reaching up to brush a stray lock of argent hair behind one pointed ear. Rin smiled broadly at the inu youkai,  
"Welcome back, M'Lord! Did you figure out the answer to your problem?"

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow slightly, Kagome looking on in blatant absorption,  
"What do you speak of, Rin?"

"Your walk, Lord Sesshoumaru," the young human girl met the Daiyoukai's gaze easily, a soft smile formed on her petal lips, "M'Lord always goes for a walk to clear his mind when he needs silence to digest something… And come up with a solution to the problem."

Kagome was almost sure she'd caught a slight smirk flit across the lord's sultry lips. Her azure eyes drank in the planes of his face, those beautiful striations adumbrated his cheeks in stark contrast to his white skin. The miko pulled her bottom lip into her mouth and chewed on it, a light flush colouring her cheeks before averting her eyes.

Sesshoumaru's yellow eyes flicked to Kagome, studying her for a moment before glancing towards the young ward with a curt nod. He closed his eyes, leaning his head back against wall of the enclosure.

The priestess swallowed, her gaze locked on the Daiyoukai's bared throat. She turned away, pulling a hand up near her face, _What is the matter with you, Kagome? Get a hold of yourself! Gorgeous or not, he's still InuYasha's brother… and a Daiyoukai at that._ She smiled weakly at Rin,  
"So how're you feeling now, Rin?"

Rin beamed a toothy grin at her new caretaker,  
"I'm feeling much better, thank you Kagome! The tangy chewy medicine you gave me must have really helped!"

The twenty year old felt warmth surge through her chest as she smiled back at the child, mussing her hair as the girl giggled.

Sesshoumaru's eyes snapped open, lifting his head off of the wall and turning his nose towards the aperture; his honey orbs narrowed,  
"Hn."

Kagome regarded the demon lord with curiosity as he fluently rolled to his feet,  
"Uh… Lord … Sesshoumaru?"

The inu youkai flipped a glance over his shoulder at the priestess, the sun contrasting half of the demon lord in stark light and shadow. His golden eyes locked onto hers,  
"InuYasha."

Sesshoumaru turned, removing his being from the den calmly, soft leather boots almost inaudibly thudding against the ground.

"W-What… Do you mean.. InuYasha?" Her stormy eyes grew wide, heart thumping painfully in her chest. The miko slowly shook her head back and forth, unknowingly climbing to her feet,  
"N-No. No, not him… I can't see him…" a frantic intonation to her voice struck Sesshoumaru like a knife, his youkai surging through him forcing him to turn towards Kagome, that odd feeling of wanting to protect her swelled through his being.

Kagome bounded forward, clutching at Sesshoumaru's shoulders, his hands fisting into the thick material of his haori,  
"Please, Sesshoumaru, I can't see him!" Her augmented eyes and dilated pupils bore into his own slightly widened optics; surprised at her first contact with him since he'd sampled her neck days ago.  
"…I don't want to go with him… I don't want to see him…"

The demon lord stared down at the priestess, his youkai brimming the top of his control. Her cerulean eyes gleamed brightly, the scent of tears beginning to filter through the air,  
"P-Please Sesshoumaru… I don't want to go with him… I want to stay here…"

An eerie calm flowed through him, his youkai almost purred inside his head, satisfied at her admittance of wanting to stay with him. His conscious being realized he didn't even mind she'd left off the honorific of being Lord of the West.

Resplendent eyes blinked, his voice coming out in a low even tone,  
"Is that what you wish, Miko?" Kagome startled slightly, her distress dissipating as her mind caught up with his words. She slowly opened her aching hands, releasing his haori and stepping back from his being, eyes downcast in thought.

The lord waited patiently, emotions emanating off of her in waves so conflicting it began to cause his earlier headache to return from its respite.

Kagome met the demon's gaze once more, her mind having sorted through its confusion and a small nod, aware of all the repercussions this decision could cause,  
"Yes… That is what I want…"

Sesshoumaru nodded in acknowledgement,  
"Very well. My earlier statement still stands; you are under this Sesshoumaru's protection."

Kagome took a tentative step back, her face flushing lightly once more as the Daiyoukai turned, a soft growl colouring his tone that surprised her slightly,  
"I shall return."  
Before the priestess could utter another word, the youkai lord bounded into the air; a determined rigid set to his broad shoulders, and disappeared behind a conglomerate of forest. Kagome stared off into the place she'd lost sight of him, her hand fisting in the material above her heart; her thoughts a flurry of confusion in what she hoped the outcome would be.

InuYasha pushed himself a little faster, _Please wait for me, Kagome. I'm coming for you!_ His cuneate ears pulled flat above of mass of white hair that weaved dances with the wind behind his back. Large yellow ear narrowed as he lifted his nose a bit higher; sniffing the breeze for the soft lingering scents of one of the women he loved.

The inu hanyou held back a growl as his brother's scent began filtering in his senses stronger, disliking how it mingled with Kagome's. InuYasha felt more than saw his brother's sword Tokijin slicing the air before him, landing and pushing backwards hard off of his heel just in time to register the blade striking the ground, disturbing the earth and dispersing bright shocks of after-effect lightening.

The hanyou's honey eyes met golden ice as he landed about three meters from where his brother was smoothly lifting himself into a seemingly relaxed stance. InuYasha wouldn't let that trick him, his sharp eyes told him the hidden strength and agility behind the tensed muscles.

"Sesshoumaru… Where's Kagome, you bastard?!" His voice rang clearly in the defoliated glade the dog demons faced off in.

The Lord of the West let a cruel smirk tug at the corners of his lips, provoking an irritated growl from the hanyou,  
"Why, hello to you too, little brother," Sesshoumaru mocked in a deceivingly friendly tone,  
"The miko is, as of this moment, no longer of your concern."

"WHAT?!" InuYasha burst out angrily, his brothers face dropping back into an apathetic expression,  
"The HELL she's not, you asshole! Tell me where she is!" he punctuated his words by drawing Tessaiga from its sheath, the blade singing softly into the air.

The Daiyoukai scowled slightly, his empty left sleeve blew forward, ever reminding him of the failure he'd faced at his pathetic brothers clawed little hands,  
"You never learned to respect your elders wishes."

"Yeah! 'Cause your only damn wish was that I jump off a fucking mountain and kill myself, Dickface!"

"Even you should've been able to complete something so seemingly simple," the Lord hurdled forward, raising Tokijin across his left shoulder, striking when the hanyou was within range. InuYasha blocked his advance, his left hand bracing the thick blade near the tip, leveraging his strength to his advantage to not only push off his vagrant brother off of him, but take his own swipe as well.

Sesshoumaru landed inaudibly, ever the piss off to InuYasha who couldn't be quiet to save his life, and sheathed his blade; his index and middle fingertips glowing an acid green,  
"The miko wishes to reside with me, I will not have you placing allegation to that which you've acquired no claim."

InuYasha raised Tessaiga a little higher, scowling that much deeper as his hands constricted his blade's hilt,  
"Fuck you, Sesshoumaru. Kagome is going to come with me whether you like it or not!"

Just as InuYasha was about to charge, the sheer force of Sesshoumaru's youki inhibited him, immobilizing him to the spot. The demon's power swelled around him, raising his hair in a dance akin to fire, ice blue eyes pierced InuYasha out of crimson sclera. Indigo strips extended in jagged lines on his cheeks while his fangs elongated, lightening crackled and jumped around his being,  
"You will NOT touch what this Sesshoumaru has deemed as his!" the Lord's voice growled threateningly in two tones, his youkai pushing at the forefront of Sesshoumaru's exterior.

"What you've deemed as—Wait, WHAT?!" Disbelief blew through InuYasha like a tornado, his tone incredulous as he retorted,  
"You've never even CARED for humans past that little runt that, for reasons NONE of us understand, follows you!"

"This Sesshoumaru has no obligation to educate you on details of which are no concern of yours."

"THE HELL IT ISNT, YOU JACKASS!" InuYasha charged headlong into the battle, beginning what was really a fight that would not last very long, and not in the hanyou's favor. With his youkai sharing his consciousness, Sesshoumaru didn't hold back as he usually did, thrashing the half demon relentlessly into the ground time and time again.

"I bore of your foolish games, little brother," the youkai growled as InuYasha once again forced himself to his feet, pushing his battered and bruised body hard to not show his half-brother his weakness.

"Heh, well, isn't that just too bad," he snarled, swiping at a drop of blood tickling in the corner of his mouth. InuYasha's body was fully of blood, his own blood, with little scrapes and bruised littered his body intermingled with several rather vicious looking lacerations.

Sesshoumaru frowned, lifting Tokijin to point straight at his kin, hatred and possession burning in his liquid gold eyes,  
"This ends now, Hanyou."

Sesshoumaru advanced with inhuman speed, driving the point of his sword him into the half-breeds stomach, earning a laconic gasp of pain that repeated as he slowly unsheathed his sword from his brother's body.

InuYasha's amber eyes widened, his left hand moving to clutch at the wound only to adjust it's path as Sesshoumaru sheathed Tokijin and coiled a hand around the younger boy's throat,  
"Know. Your. Place," Sesshoumaru growled as he brought his face threateningly into InuYasha's,  
"I will not have so much mercy next time, Half-Breed."

InuYasha may not have been able to draw more breath into his collapsing trachea, but expended the last little bit with pride,  
"F-Fuck… You…" He croaked.

The demon lord threw him unceremoniously to the ground, his upper lip pulled slightly in disgust before he pulled his youkai around himself, converging into a bright ball of pure ki before zigzagging off into the distance.

InuYasha blinked, his gaze trained on the sky above him, breath coming in short gasps. His vision swarm before him, bringing his mind around to the amount of blood that he'd lost,  
"W…Whatta… Whatta Bastard…" Were the last words he made out before sinking into a state of unconsciousness.

Sesshoumaru's ki ball burst upon impact on the ground in front of the ephemeral make-shift den, upon opening his eyes he caught Kagome worriedly pacing back and forth before finally noticing his youkai permeating the air. She whirled on her heel, hurrying forward to confront of dog demon,

"What happened?!" Her tone squeaked, heart beating irratically. Her scent reeked to Sesshoumaru of anguish and confusion.

The demon blinked slowly stoic eyes at her, the feeling of his youkai beginning to push against the restraints of his control teetering his patience,  
"InuYasha will survive, if that is your question, Miko," his phlegmatic tone brought the priestess a wave of shame, down casting her eyes. The demon gave no notion of caring as he walked past her and into the mouth of the cave, resuming his normal recumbent position after eyeing Rin.

Kagome stood rooted to spot, raven bangs sliding forward to cover her chagrinned gaze, _Kagome you idiot… Of course he'd be pissed off… He went out of his way to fight because you wanted him to… But you can't even make up your stupid mind on who you wanted to win?_

Kagome released a soft sigh, moving off to be alone for a while, garnering no questions from the demon on her perspective whereabouts. She trudged sullenly through the forest, watching her loafs alternate with each step.

She came upon the river nearby, unknowingly standing in almost the exact spot the Daiyoukai had earlier, crouching by the water's edge. The priestess stared at her reflection, her chest hurting, stomach knotted painfully,  
"I can't believe I'm such an indecisive jerk…" She pouted alone, grasping a stick beside her on the grass and prodding the water, sending ripples spreading through her image. _Am I really any better than InuYasha? Well, yes, maybe it's just Sesshoumaru's youkai that has an… interest in me because sure as hell Sesshoumaru wouldn't… And I don't really have an interest in him… I'm just not blind, but still._

Sesshoumaru trudged forward, his youkai pulling towards the distressed emotions. Vaguely half of his mind spoke to him of need and the want to rid his miko of her sadness, he spoke back defending his right to not help her emotionally having made no promise of anything but his protection.

Crimson rimmed eyes found his target with her back to him; pleased, he silently moved behind her, his hand sliding through the length of her hair.

Kagome let out a startled scream, gyrating on one heel still crouching, her arms out to balance herself. As she turned, the miko attempted to push herself to her feet and face her 'attacker' only to lose her equilibrium and stumble back.

The Daiyoukai reached forward, swiftly encircling her lower back and pulling her against his body to stable her, holding her firmly to himself while she regained her opposition.

The miko blinked, the situation finding her blinking into dark eyes, her body pressed into Sesshoumaru's armour, one hand on his shoulder to stabilize her being. She assessed her position, prompted concluding the colour of the demon's eyes and swallowed sharply, Sesshoumaru's scent encompassing her completely.

"Miko, do not suffer alone; you need not disappear and leave this one behind," his tone always sounded deeper and more animalistic when he talked with his 'beast'.

"I… I um, I didn't want… to be a bother," she managed to force out, her azure eyes slightly wider than normal as she removed her hand from him.

Sesshoumaru removed his arm from around her lower back, only to bring it up and clasp the end of the dark red ribbon encircling her throat. His gold eyes seemed contemplative as he studied the tidy edge,  
"You would not be."

Kagome couldn't help the gasp the escaped her tightened throat as he pulled the ribbon up and pressed it softly against his lips, meeting her gaze unwaveringly beyond the material hanging between them. The demon let the ribbon float back down to her chest, moving his right hand forward to encircle a lock of her hair,  
"This one would like if you were to talk to him. This one will listen. Only for you."

The miko rightfully flushed pink, turning her face away from him, resulting in her hand slipping through his clawed fingers,  
"I-I don't think… the other would really want to hear- "

"Then talk to this one now," the youkai cut her off, a clawed finger curling around her chin, gently forcing her to return her eyes to his,  
"This one does not care for you to be distressed."

As she locked gazes with the demon, his eyes slid to half mast, slowly dipping forward. Kagome's heart began thudding painfully in a whole new way, her wide stormy eyes lost in his, her body seemingly rooted to the spot.

Eyes now at quarter-mast, the demon lord closed the space between them, his lips barely caressing against hers before he was gone. Unmistakably just… Gone, no lasting proof that he'd even been there in the first place.

Kagome numbly turned to face the water again before her body gave out and she dropped to her knees in shock, leaning back on her hands to keep herself up,  
"Did… Did that really… Happen?" She asked herself aloud, slowly raising her left fingers to brush her bottom lip.

The priestess pulled her bottom lip under her teeth to chew and paused

_… Pine… and storms…_


	6. Rin's confession

CHAPTER 6

InuYasha cursed loudly as he struggled to clean some of the blood from his bared arms and chest in a river, his fire rat haori had already begun the process of mending itself – such was the way of clothing born of youkai.

The cold water doused the dried blood from his skin, raising tiny hairs in protest of the temperature. Burning yellow eyes lost their vigor as the hanyou sat back on his heels sullenly, water dripping from his skin and sinking into the dampened ground beside him,  
"Kagome…" Snowy hair flowed over his shoulders in a light breeze, further chilling the already frigid water drying slowly on his skin,  
"I know you still love me… You are mine to have, not his."

InuYasha pivoted on heel and stalked off into the forest while shoving his arms into his red haori and wrapping it around his torso, a deep scowl set low on his face.

Kagome sat on the floor of the cavern, idly chatting with Rin who seemed to be feeling more and more energetic all the time. Kagome reached forward and place a hand against the young girl's forehead for what was probably about the tenth time that day,  
"Kagome?" The younger girls voice brought Kagome back from her reverie,  
"Do you love M'Lord?"

"Uh-Wh-What?!" Kagome's face flushed, the Daiyoukai had already been missing the better part of the day since the river incident. Just the thought of it brought the blood high in her cheeks,  
"N-No, I don't love Sesshoumaru…"

"Really? Hmm…" Rin prodded her lower lip with a quizzical finger, her expression clearly thoughtful.

Kagome's gaze traced back to her patient,  
"Why would you think that, Rin?"

Brown eyes fluttered to meet her azure ones, a mirthful glint shining in the evening night,  
"Because, you grabbed onto M'Lord and managed to get away uninjured!" She stated, the young girl's tone was ironically bright for talking about such a dark topic for a child.

Kagome almost hung her head and sighed, momentarily having forgotten how young mind's wonder to their own tune. Upon lifting her head to reply, she saw Rin's smile turn into something almost bitter, the muscles in her face pinched, her gaze reflecting deep pools of hurt – eyes far too old for such a young child to have. Kagome's tongue knotted into silence which gave Rin the chance to speak in an abated tone, no longer meeting the priestess' gaze,  
"I dunno… I guess I was just hoping you might be my new mommy is all…"

The miko could no longer help herself, her maternal instinct was strong as she drew Rin into a tight hug; clenching shut her watery eyes as Rin clutched at the sides of her grey cardigan,  
"What happened to your parents, Rin? If you don't want to tell me about it, it's okay…"

"…Rin's parents died before Rin was five… Mother, father and Rin's brothers were attacked by bandits. They tried their best, but the bandits were practiced. And then Rin's village was attacked by wolves…" Her voice quivered lightly, a slight glaze over her eyes as she recalled the fate of the ones she once knew,  
"That was when Lord Sesshoumaru saved Rin."

Kagome took note of Rin's regressed speech when she referred to herself in third person as she got anxious or upset. She talked with Kagome until the sun set low and the two fell asleep together while the priestess stroked the younger one's hair, Rin intertwined in her arms.

That was how the inu youkai found them, wrapped together curled up on his fur. Yellow eyes blinked, narrowing on the miko - setting his expression into a low scowl, a frown tugging at supple lips. He stared down his nose for a moment more before huffing softly and turning away to sit by the aperture of the den; the soft sound of the human's heartbeats lulled him enough to close his eyes, intent on listening.

"Sesshoumaru…?" The louder heartbeat grew a bit faster. The inu youkai cracked his eyes lazily, slowly turning his piercing gaze to the human. She looked slightly flushed from sleeping, her hair mussed lightly and hanging preciously in her face while she palmed at her eye tiredly.

Kagome's vision sharpened, the lord's eyes glowing in the darkness at her caused her breath to catch. Every time she forgot how dazzling and alluring he was, it always smacked her in the face. Kagome downcast her eyes, looking at Rin and frowned deeply,  
"Were you… close… with your parents?"

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at the young priestess, wondering what her angle was. Kagome got to her feet, slowly shuffling forward past the Daiyoukai and into the night air, gazing up at stars wistfully. The young girl hooked her hands behind her, the lord's eyes bore into her back as she stood,  
"I don't remember much of my dad, he passed away while I was still young and… well, I didn't have any father figure to grow up watching until later when my grandpa came to live with us…"

Inquiring eyes focused on the part of her face he could see over her shoulder. Her eyes shined broodingly, reflecting the small twinkles of the sky. Sesshoumaru frowned slightly as Kagome turned her head to talk to him face to face, for once her embarrassment of the earlier situation was far from her mind,  
"I tried to never talk about missing him to Mom, she always tries her best but… In the back of my mind I always thought about him and wondered what it'd be like if he were still alive; I know it was the same for her as well."

She sat back on the grass, crossing her feet at her ankles and propping herself on her hands. She let her head hang back and eyed the stars,  
"Rin told me she thought I'd be her new Mom today… I can't imagine what it was like for her, to so quickly lose everything she ever knew. I mean, don't get me wrong; she completely adores you… it's just, when I think about how hard it was for her… before… you."

Sesshoumaru turned his gaze past her to the half-moon floating in the sky,  
"… This Sesshoumaru did not know his sire so well as InuYasha may believe."

Kagome started, turning to look over her shoulder with wide eyes; _I didn't really expect him to answer me… He tries to stay so impersonal all the time._ The miko kept her mouth shut, hoping he would continue. It was a rare thing for Sesshoumaru to volunteer information about himself so willingly.

"My sire was arranged into a marriage for the purpose of gaining land in the West. He was in a less than desirable relationship and procured an heir out of duty. This one figures it was why he disgraced himself and laid with a mortal woman. InuYasha's mother."

Kagome averted her eyes, turning back to look at the moon while she thought,  
"You father didn't love your mother? Did she love him?"

"No. The bitch that birthed me is, shall we say, detached and …distant."

Kagome was momentarily surprised he threw the word bitch around so easily before remembering his youkai breed, then threw a sly look sideways, unseen by Sesshoumaru behind her, _Sounds like somebody __**else**__ I know…_  
"What about you father, Lord Sesshoumaru? Didn't you have a good relationship with him?"

"The Inu no Taisho was a very assiduous and prestigious in governing his lands, it was a role the General took very seriously."

"That must've been hard…"

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow slightly, clearly confused at her statement,  
"Explain, Miko."

"Well, parents play a big part in a child's life… You know, to be there and support them, teach them right from wrong, tell them they love them… Boy's love spending time with their dad, doing all the manly stuff like hunting and fishing – or… you know, whatever youkai do… And they get their reassurance from their mother's love and affection."

The Daiyoukai blinked thoughtfully and lowered his eyes, silent for but a moment,  
"Youkai do not have the same expectations of rearing a child that mortals do. Nobility even less so."

Kagome turned around, matching the inu youkai's stare,  
"I don't understand… do you mean to say that youkai parent's don't care for their children?"

"Not so. Lesser youkai raise their kin much the same way humans do, higher in the youkai ranks, demon kin are often passed off onto teachers to learn the ways of aristocracy and youkai politics."

Kagome raised a hand to the back of her head, dragging it through her raven locks around her shoulder. Her eyes encompassed a melancholy speculation, her petal lips pulling into a soft frown. She tried to imagine what her life would have been like, what she would have been like, if she'd been passed off by her parents and raised by cold, dispassionate teachers whose only goal was to turn her into the perfect pupil. She further speculated what she would feel if she'd thought she was created out of duty and not of want. It was… disheartening to say the least.

Without thinking, the miko turned and moved forward on her hands and knees, throwing an arm around the empty left haori sleeve, coming to rest just above the Daiyoukai's shoulder blades, while the other snaked under his arm and laid over the boiled leather armour at the back of his waist,  
"I'm so sorry…"

The demon's sunlit gaze widened as the girl's small frame curled to his, her head resting near the crook of his neck. Perhaps he'd gotten too comfortable in her company to have let his guard down so much,  
"Miko. You will release this Sesshoumaru's person at-" He tried to sound threatening while his youkai tided inside of him. The scent of vanilla and flowers, and summer floated into his senses, and the fight was soon lost.

Kagome loosened her grasp, moving to draw back from the demon when she felt his hand nudge softly against her ribs before sliding to her spine and pulling her contrarily back to his sedentary form. Kagome gasped sharply as crimson eyes closed, nuzzling into the crown of her hair and inhaling,  
"You have come willingly to this one's embrace, this one's pleasure is great."

"A-Ah, Lord Se-Sesshoum-maru?" Her voice quivered slightly, pulse increasing rapidly with the distribution of adrenaline through her body, _Kagome, you stupid idiot! How easily do you really forget such important things? Sesshoumaru already told you not to get close! Stupid!_

"This one is pleased you care for his background and pain," he purred softly in her ear, pulling her closer to him to sit in his lap. Wide azure eyes gleamed up at him in the soft light of night as she turned to look at him, her lips already parted and waiting for his ministrations.

"P-Please let the other Sesshoumaru come back…"

"But why should he do that when this one is having so much fun with his intended?" The demon lowered his head to slide a silken tongue around the shell of her ear, nipping it softly afterward, earning himself a delightful shiver from the priestess.

Kagome's hands balled into fists on his chest, clenching the soft material of Sesshoumaru's haori as she tried fruitlessly to push away from his body, blood beginning to rise high in her cheeks while she felt an intangible fuzziness encompass her,  
"B-Because I want y-you to."

Even to Kagome her tone sounded weak and uncertain. The youkai chuckled, a sound that sank low in her stomach and threatened another shudder through her spine,  
"You tell this one no outright lie, but your body conflicts with your mind," he hummed softly, skirting her ear to place a gentle kiss on her cheek.

"N-No they don't!" She protested, the unfamiliar heat entering her entire person; she swallowed hard. It reminded her of the dream she'd had when she was travelling with the InuTachi.

Once again the demon chuckled deeply, if Kagome were honest, it was indeed a sound she didn't mind hearing. Her cerulean eyes caught a glimpse of a perfectly pointed ear, an intense urge to nibble at it formed clenched deep in her waist. The smell of her arousal was not unnoticed by the Daiyoukai.

"My miko…" Kagome flushed deeply, an absurd thought passed through her mind, wondering if he knew what she'd just imagined doing. Her gaze met his slitted one, emotions pooling so bright and passionately in them that she felt he were a whole different person than Sesshoumaru,  
"I want you to kiss me."

"Excuse-WHAT?!" She blinked stupidly, her cheeks gaining a colour relative to a tomato. To look into the youkai's face and gaze, to hear those words spoken in his voice, was so utterly confusing to the priestess' mind she found his request hard to process.

A slow, sexy half-grin slid onto Sesshoumaru's face, quirking the stripes on one side just a touch,  
"I said, I want you to kiss me, my Miko. Then, this one will relinquish his control to the other."

Kagome stared into his Daiyoukai's darkened eyes, ice blue irises examining her reaction to his suggestion. The priestess' bottom lip quivered slightly as she swallowed hard, _I mean, it's not like we haven't kissed… kinda… Well, it wasn't Sesshoumaru's choice but… Oh dear God he's going to kill me…Maybe I'll just tell his demon I want him to be out twenty-four, seven. Is that possible? No.I don't want this pervert around all the time! And knowing Sesshoumaru, he'd find some way to overcompensate and bring himself back, and THEN kill my ass… I'm kinda in a lose lose situation here…_

The demon watched in satisfaction, his grin widening to reveal two perfect fangs. This girl was just **too** delicious and adorable. He didn't know what was taking Sesshoumaru so long to see that his intended was perfect. The way he figured it, Sesshoumaru would give in to his advances on the woman soon enough; she was not just a 'mere mortal' after all, she was their fated.

_Would Sesshoumaru want me to bring him back as quickly as I could? But every other time he managed to do it himself… Usually before anything happened- well, except last time… Is his youkai getting stronger?_ She could see the mirth plainly in the youkai's eyes as she debated inwardly what the best plan of action would be.

_Alright… I'll take the chance… Sesshoumaru, please don't kill me!_  
The priestess nodded curtly, her face gaining several more shades of red.

Kagome closed her eyes tightly, tilting her face up and parting her lips just a little. Sesshoumaru peered into her reluctant yet willing face, his tongue swiping across his bottom lip,  
"Hn, though this one asked _you_ to kiss _him_, he shall not decline this gift."

Kagome's eyes shot open as the youkai closed the distance between their lips, he sucked her bottom lip between his teeth and nibbled slightly before striking his tongue along it. Heat burned in her face and more unfamiliarly in her groin, as she blankly stared past magenta lined eyelids. Despite knowing it was going to happen, it still managed to shock her to think it was actually happening.

Sesshoumaru grazed his tongue along her upper lip as well before gaining entrance to her mouth, his experienced member enticing hers into a dance she didn't know. Kagome soon found herself willing this to continue, her eyes sliding closed of their own accord, her brain seemingly shutting itself off for the moment.

Their passionate lock lasted a few seconds longer before the youkai draw back just enough to mumble against her lips as she breathed hard,  
"Until next time, my Miko."

Kagome's mind whirled into action, digesting the latest development in her weird relationship with the demon lord. She didn't register his hand falling away from her back, no longer barring her from moving; or his figure pulling his upper body out of her personal space until he spoke,  
"Miko. You may get off now."

The priestess startled, azure eyes jumping to meet molten gold,  
"OH! Uh, Y-Yes, so sorry!" She scrambled to the other side of the den's aperture, the rock biting into her back. Her gaze met the ground, scared to rise again and look at the silent demon lord, fearing his reaction to kissing the 'mortal girl' he so recently disliked.

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes; pinching the bridge of his nose at the growing head ache he called 'Miko.' Pushing his clawed hand up into his argent bangs, the youkai peeked over at the human who still crouched, refusing to look at him.

Inwardly, the demon couldn't help but laugh, the situation after-all was so unbelievable, it was one of the only things he could think to do. Outwardly, a mere twitch of his lips would've been the only thing to give him away had the miko been watching.

Kagome drew her legs up to her chest, burying her blushing face behind them,  
"U-Um, Lord Sesshoumaru? … I'm, um… I'm sorry."

Sesshoumaru blinked, examining the priestess as she spoke,  
"Miko. You may wish to keep in mind you're in the presence of a male. After all, I'm in the habit of speaking into the persons eyes I'm talking to, as is polite."

Kagome lifted her face, her face a mask of surprise, his reply being so far from what she expected that she blanked,  
"Huh? What do you mean?"

Sesshoumaru stared, wondering how the human could be so ignorant of her own body. Kagome looked down at her chest seeing her ribbon neatly tied, all of her buttons done up and her cardigan closed as well. She quirked a brow, then saw her knees drawn up which would provide the demon with a clear view under her skirt.

Kagome's cheeks blew red as she pushed her knees down with an 'Eep!'  
"Well you don't gotta stare!"

Sesshoumaru huffed through his nose, turning his eyes away from the human,  
"This Sesshoumaru was taught it was rude to deny gifts."

Kagome's jaw dropped as she stared into his striped face, stunned,  
"Did… Did the great, cold, Lord Sesshoumaru **actually** just make a joke?"

"This Sesshoumaru is not cold."

"… Are you pouting…?"

"This Sesshoumaru does not pout."

"Oh my God… You ARE pouting!"

Sesshoumaru pinned the young girl with a glare, refusing to reply and repeat what he'd already spoken leaving Kagome to giggle softly to herself.

Sango stretched her arms, feeling the satisfying pop while she yawned. Miroku glanced up to her, covering Shippou's prone sleeping form. The fire crackled and threw a dance of shadows around the clearing they were in. Miroku forced the frown off of his lips as he stood, shifting his houshi uniform on his body and brushing off his shoulder. Plastering a smile on his face as he stepped up behind her,  
"What a beautiful night it is, right Sango?"

The woman's body stiffened as she felt his hand reach forward and grope her bottom. The taijiya felt her eyebrow twitch and her hands clench,  
"Why… You…" Whirling on her heel, she opened her palm and felt it connect with the monk's cheek,  
"LETCH!"

Miroku held his stance, fighting not to bring a hand up to his stinging cheek,  
"Now Sango, I was just enjoying this wonderful night to the utmost of my capabilities."

Sango's brown eyes burned into his stormy indigo ones,  
"As would I if you could keep you damn hands to yourself!"

Miroku sighed softly, his expression falling into one more serious,  
"Kagome isn't going to be returning… Is she."  
It wasn't a question.

Sango turned away from Miroku and looked up to the starry night stretching like an ocean above their heads,  
"I… I don't think so… I just want her to be happy is all… She deserves better than InuYasha. But Sesshoumaru? I honestly don't think he'd be much better… Well, we all know what he thinks of humans. There is that little girl that resides in his company to consider, and she doesn't look forced to remain."

Miroku nodded, the rings on his staff jingling softly in the slight breeze,  
"I know what you mean. Unfortunately, we're not even sure if she's still with him, I imagine Rin is beginning to get over her cold with Kagome's future medication by now."

Sango sighed sadly, glancing back at Shippou under the blanket Kagome had brought a long time back,  
"Poor Shippou, he's not taking her being gone too well…"

"I wouldn't expect him to; after all, Kagome was like a mother to him, the closest he had to a semblance of a parent especially after his father died at the hands of the Thunder Brothers."

The taijiya nodded, turning to walk back to the camp,  
"C'mon Miroku, we should get some sleep…"

Daybreak found the remains of the InuTachi as they prepared to get back on the road, regardless of the presence of InuYasha and Kagome; they all decided to continue for the purpose of getting their own revenge, knowing they would probably meet by common enemy sooner or later.

Shippou's anxiety at his 'foster mother's' absence was growing, his action's and behaviours were beginning to become erratic; he sensed something off with the two with him – they were hiding something, and InuYasha's vacancy was doing nothing to solve it.

"Uh… Sango… Miroku…" Shippou hesitantly spoke up, walking slightly behind the houshi and taijiya. The two humans paused, both looking back over their shoulder's at the young fox demon,  
"I um… I'm going to go find Kagome…" The fox looked up with sad teal eyes to the people he respected; he didn't want to hurt them with nasty words or actions anymore, and he needed to be around Kagome.

Sango's lips pulled into a gentle frown,  
"Well, we can't stop you Shippou… I understand you want… Just," Sango paused, thinking of the right words, "Just tell Kagome that we love and miss her."

The fox nodded curtly before turning and scurrying across the path and into the woods, a determined look on his face.

"MY LORD! MY LORD! THE GREAT MASTER JAKEN HAS RETRUNED TO YOUR SIDE TO SERVE FAITHFU—BLURGHH!" The imp demons cry of return was silenced as a boiled leather booted foot blocked his person from going any further by planting itself directly in his face.

Jaken fell back; the overflowing basket he was burdened with stopped him from falling over completely, but didn't stop the pain in his heart at his Lord's blatant disregard of his return,  
"My Lord, I have brought Rin back the best food this land could supply! As your vassal it was a pleasure to be gifted with such an important tas-"

"Jaken. Enough." The Daiyoukai's smooth tone flowed through the den, soothing Kagome's aching ears as she cracked an eye to see the imp youkai dragging a food-laden basket into the cave.

"Aye M'Lord!"

Kagome yawned loudly, stretching her arms upward after a good sleep. She slept a lot better curled up on Sesshoumaru's fur with her arms around Rin than she did on just a sleeping bag interposing between the ground and her body,  
"Ah, breakfast; I'll be able to cook something good up with all those ingredients."

"These are not for you, mortal! They are for Rin!" Jaken protested, balling a little green fist and pointing at the prone form of the young girl.

Kagome threw him a flat stare,  
"And, uh, praytell Toad. Just **who** will be cooking for Rin? Surely you're not planning on doing it yourself."

The youkai paused, realizing that the 'mortal' was indeed correct in this case and decided to withdraw, crossing his arms into the thick brown sleeves of his haori.

The miko huffed and nodded, knowing she'd won that round. Rin blinked, hazy while she slowly awoke to the conversation around her. The young girl smiled broadly,  
"Master Jaken, you have returned! Welcome back!"

Jaken internally beamed at the young girls positivity,  
"Rin, how are you feeling?"

"Much better now, thanks to Kagome!" Rin smiled up to the priestess, admiration pooling in her gaze.

Kagome smile down at the young girl, mussing her hair lovingly,  
"Now, now, let's see what we can cook up for some breakfast!"

Sesshoumaru glanced to the female mortals,  
"Rin, Miko, we leave after you've eaten."

Both of the girls rounded and nodded at the Daiyoukai, Kagome turning to her yellow backpack to dig out the necessary tools for the job.

The four packed up (or rather, three, while Sesshoumaru reclined leisurely against the wall). Rin carried Sesshoumaru's fur piece to him, brushing off a few bits of leaves from the end of the length. Sesshoumaru silently accepted it from Rin, adjusting it over his right shoulder with some difficulty.

_I never thought about the consequences for Sesshoumaru when InuYasha cut off his arm…He just seemed so nonchalant about it and… well, I guess he always makes everything look so easy that I never noticed it before…_

"Miko. You stare again, is there something you want to ask me?"

Kagome blinked stupidly, waving her hands embarrassedly in a rapid fashion in front of her face,  
"N-N-No! No no no, nevermind me! Hahaha!"

Sesshoumaru quirked a brow slightly, giving a last tug to pull the length into place before running a hand through his argent threads of hair, closing his eyes,  
"You have a visitor."

"Excuse me?"

"Kagoomeee!" A small cry came from somewhere outside the den. Kagome exited, a curious expression on her face, with young Rin following closely at her heels while placing a hand to shield her eyes from the sun.

"Is that? It couldn't…. Shippou?"

"Kagome!" The running fox youkai leapt happily into the priestess' embrace, snuggling into her neck joyously,  
"Kagome! I found you! Finally!"

"Shippou, where are the others?" Kagome looked around, slightly worried for how the Daiyoukai would react to her friend's impeding on his territory.

"InuYasha hasn't come back, and Miroku and Sango are continuing their hunt for Naraku… I just wanted to be here with you…"

Rin reached up, cupping Shippou's tail and squishing it gently between her hands, laughing at the tickly fur pushing against her palms,  
"Oh wow! It's so puffy!"

"Hey!" Shippou protested, a small fist balled while he braced his other hand on Kagome's shoulder,  
"That's my tail! Watch it!"

Rin giggled as Kagome looked hopelessly towards Sesshoumaru, who narrowed molten eyes at the fox,  
"My name's Rin! What's your name?"

Shippou dropped his fist, turning in Kagome's arms and twiddling his fingers together,  
"Uh, I'm Shippou…"

"Why don't you two play for a couple minutes, hmm?" Kagome suggested, raising her index finger with the idea. The two hesitantly went off, but soon were chatting and laughing, showing each other flowers and bugs around the clearing.

Kagome balled her hand over her heart nervously, shuffling towards the Daiyoukai slowly, her head lowered. She lifted that hand to curl a lock of hair around her finger,  
"Lord Sesshoumaru… um…"

The inu youkai slid his gaze towards her, a shiver slowly running down her spine,  
"We'll be departing soon miko. Make sure the kit keeps up."

Her eyes widened, meeting his in surprise,  
"You mean… it's okay?"

Sesshoumaru gave pause, looking off towards the blue sky,  
"Do you truly intend to travel and stay with us, Miko?"

Kagome gave him a confused look, not completely understanding why the Daiyoukai was asking that particular question; she gave a short hesitant nod.

"After everything, knowing about my youkai's desire and the… issues that have, and will, arise. No longer able to claim ignorance, I ask again if you truly intend to stay."

The blood rose in her cheeks, reliving the kiss; an intense urge to lick her bottom lip took hold - then another thought came to her mind,  
"Are **you** okay with it? I mean… as I stated a long time ago, I am aware you're not… overly fond of my species… And to have me so close in this situation we're in could be… bothersome for you."

Sesshoumaru turned back towards the priestess, admiring the indigo sheen from the glow of the sun, black and blue like a raven's wing. Her azure gaze looked uncertain as she stared at him, awaiting an answer from him. _I don't think she understands… at this point, I'm not sure I'd be able to allow her away from me… Not since my youkai heard her claim of wanting to stay…_  
"Hn."

"Uhh… I'm going to guess that's your way of saying you don't care," Kagome gave a diffident laugh. She averted her gaze down, twisting a shoe into the ground in front of her before gazing up with an expression of determination,  
"Yes. I intend to stay."

The Daiyoukai gave a curt nod, turning to look at the human child and fox kit playing together, inwardly pleased at the prospect of Rin having company near her own age – at least mentally,  
"Then they will be your responsibility, Rin can take care of herself, but I know not about the kit."

Kagome smiled broadly, happiness expanding through her chest,  
"Thank you so much!"

The demon inside of him purred at the smell of elation exuding from her, proud to make his intended happy. Sesshoumaru inwardly sighed, pondering the best way to deal with the problem of contention between the ideals of himself and his demon.

"By the way Lord Sesshoumaru? … I'm, uh… Sorry about last night. I'll try to mind your space…"

The Daiyoukai closed his eyes, remaining silent for a moment before taking a few steps forward,  
"Rin. We will depart now."

"Yes, M'Lord!" Rin chimed, turning and grasping Shippou by the hand, a broad smile sliding over her lips,  
"C'mon Shippou! Let's go!"

Shippou glanced towards Kagome who smiled back, walking a few steps behind Sesshoumaru. Shippou grinned,  
"Right!"

Sesshoumaru held his index and middle fingers to his lips and whistled loudly; a moment later Ah-Un was descending from the sky with a roar of what would be greeting could he speak. The Daiyoukai turned abruptly, grabbing the strap of the yellow backpack from Kagome's shoulder. Kagome protested in surprise as the weight fell from her shoulders and silently witnessed the youkai hooking her bag onto the side of the dragon's saddle. She blinked silently before letting a smile spread over her lips.

InuYasha growled in frustration, kicking a rock with a clawed foot, his white ears twitching upon his mop of snowy hair. His hands fisted in the sleeves of his fire rat haori, yellow eyes gleamed dangerously in the morning light.  
_I can't lose you Kagome, especially not to __**him**__! I won't._


	7. The way we always wanted it

CHAPTER 7

Noon found Sesshoumaru's troop resting by a rushing river, sitting beneath the shade of a giant oak tree. Kagome sipped her tea from a metal thermos, relishing the hot liquid seeping down her throat. There was a nice breeze blowing through the meadow, cooling the group from their travels,  
"What a nice day," Kagome commented generally, closing her eyes and tilting her face back to the sun's rays.

Sesshoumaru opened one golden eye, watching her hair cascade and weave over her shoulders with the motion, silently admiring the small figure in front of him. If anything, it could be said the priestess was beautiful. For a human.

Rin giggled as Shippou munched happily on sasa mochi, a sweet sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves,  
"Do you like it, Shippou?"

Shippou turned teal eyes on the human girl, a slight flush covering his cheeks as he smiled,  
"Mmhmm! I've never had sasa mocha this good before!"

Kagome smiled at the two younger ones, happy that they seemed to be getting along so well. Her cerulean gaze slid to the Daiyoukai who leaned against the thick trunk of the oak. The sun dappled across his face through the leaves, playing a dance of shadows against his ivory skin. He had his silver hair tucked behind his left pointed ear, molten eyes once again shut.

"We should find shelter for the night; later, it will rain," Sesshoumaru's baritone shook Kagome from her stare to find him gazing back. She frowned slightly and glanced up at the blue sky, puffy white clouds scattered haphazardly across the vast bowl.

"How do you know, Lord Sesshoumaru?" Kagome asked, glancing back.

"I can smell the rain coming."

Kagome blinked, _I know InuYasha had a good nose but he could never smell when it would rain… Then again, as a full demon I wonder how much better Sesshoumaru's senses are…_

Rin glanced back and forth between the two, brown eyes calculating as always, silently observing. Shippou sighed softly beside her,  
"It's always so cold when it rains."

The two humans and four demons took up the path again, winding their way from the meadows to the forest, heading in the direction of the Western Territories.

"Um, Lord Sesshoumaru? Where exactly are we going?" Kagome asked, walking slightly behind the demon lord as he led the group, clouds slowly beginning to gather and darken the sky to a twilight. _Y'know, I really should have thought of that a long time ago… But Sesshoumaru always seems so confident and sure of himself that I didn't think to question our way._

"This Sesshoumaru must check on his lands. Then we continue to hunt Naraku."

Kagome nodded, looking to the ground as she recalled the last gruesome scene they'd found in the malicious hanyou's wake, right before she'd given Rin her gifts for helping her.  
_Her gifts!_ Kagome turned on heel, walking backwards as she sought the young girl's eyes, sitting atop the dragon youkai while Shippou sat in front, turned to face her,  
"Rin! Did you finish the film on the camera I gave you?"

Rin blinked before coming to a conclusion, taking a moment to remember what a camera was,  
"Oh! I finished one of them! I still have 15 more on the second! I remember now, I wanted to wait until I saw you again before I finished!"

Rin reached into Ah-Un's saddle bag to her side, withdrawing the second camera,  
"Can I take a picture of you, Shippou?"

Shippou smiled broadly and nodded, pulling his cheeks out as she took a shot of him making the young human girl laugh delightedly.

Rin turned the view finder forward onto the priestess and the Daiyoukai. Kagome hooked her hands behind her back, leaning forward and giving a cute smile while the inu youkai half-turned his head, only partially interested in what was going on behind him with the mortals and fox kit, just as Rin clicked.

The girl and kit giggled playfully as Rin captured a picture of Jaken, the imp youkai throwing something of a fit until Sesshoumaru turned and took the couple steps to him, pulling back a leg and booting him into the woods; hilariously captured, unbeknownst to everyone else, by Rin.

The trip continued, a couple photos taken here and there by Shippou and Rin until there were 3 left and Rin put the camera away (much to Jaken's relief) in Ah-Un's saddle bag once more. The darkness crept through in clouds; shadowing the evening enough that Sesshoumaru decided to stop and make camp.

Rin and Shippou collected the wood to make a fire while Kagome strung across a tarp that would keep them dry when the rain decided to fall. Sesshoumaru stood beside Ah-Un, watching the young one's run around camp while Kagome tediously weaved a rope between metal eyelets of a blue material he had never seen.  
_The optimism of this human surprises this Sesshoumaru._ The inu youkai watched her shiver slightly and let out a sneeze, frowning gently as he thought of the episode that just happened with Rin being sick. Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and sighed gently, running a clawed hand down the dragon's scaly necks.

"Kagome! Kagome! Do you think this is enough?!" Rin and Shippou trotted back into the clearing as Kagome jerked hard on the rope, completing the final knot and looking back at the two smiling expectantly up at her.

"Perfect! Good job guys!"

Jaken turned towards the kit and young girl, secretly liking, yet harbouring a slight jealousy, of how well they got along together. He'd become used to protecting Rin under Sesshoumaru's orders, and though playing babysitter was somewhat beneath one of his status, he'd come to silently enjoy the young girls company and compassion.

"Say Rin, did you still have that blanket I gave you a while back when you helped me find my way to the forest of InuYasha?" Kagome questioned, watching the girl smile and nod,  
"Why don't you and Shippou wrap yourselves up and stay warm while I get dinner ready; you still gotta be careful as you're getting over your cold y'know."

"Okay, Rin – I will be careful," the young human nodded seriously before turning on heel and running towards the dragon, breaking Sesshoumaru out of his daydream. The youkai flicked his eyes to Kagome, something tugging inside of him as he caught the motherly smile wistfully pulling at her lips.

The demon lord turned, unbuckling one of the bags to pull out the finely crafted wool blanket and silently handed it to Rin.

"Thank you, M'Lord! Oh! Oh! Shippou, let's draw!" Rin suggested emphatically.

With the night came the heavy rainfalls, fat droplets striking the ground creating a symphony of cracks and claps. The water drummed on the blue tarp, a sound that surprising lulled the children and Jaken to sleep. Sesshoumaru had silently removed the fur from his shoulder earlier, providing the children with a semblance of a pillow as they curled up under the blanket.

Jaken ended up passed out on his back, snoring lightly near the human and kit. Kagome chuckled, retrieving Rin's camera to take a shot of them all, excited for the time she returned to develop them.  
_Hmm, speaking of which, I'll probably need to return soon to get supplies… I used up a lot of medication for Rin and want to be prepared for the next obstacle thrown my way,_ Kagome thought to herself as she replaced the Polaroid where she'd found it.

Sesshoumaru watched the miko run back and forth to the dragon through the rain, exposure to the elements never bothering the creature, dashing through the sky's tears with an arm hovering by her forehead, her back bent over as she tried to avoid as much water as she could. By the time she stopped beneath the tarp, her dampened clothes were beginning to cling to her shoulders, dark bangs plastered to her forehead. The human rounded large blue eyes onto him, a broad smile flowing over her lips as she giggled lightly,  
"I love the rain! Especially downpours like this where the drops just crash down, with kind of warm air, barely a breeze to be felt," she sniffed, rubbing the tip of her nose with a finger, catching the drip that tickled her skin.

Sesshoumaru watched the water rivuletting down her cheeks, drops falling from the tips of her hair. Kagome's cheeks flushed lightly from the exposure to the deluge, and possibly a bit from his studious gaze,  
"I find it can be most relaxing to listen to sometimes; though this one is not too partial to the sound thrumming from your corporeal canopy."

Kagome scratched the back of her head, fingers threading through parting segments,  
"Ah, ha ha ha, sorry. I wish there were some kind of shelters around here… We used to pass a bunch made for travelling monks and priestess' to reside the night when journeying on a pilgrimage or travelling village to village to help the sick and injured."

"Hn," Sesshoumaru blinked, having silently listened to her speak and logging it in his mind for later before turning away, momentarily closing his eyes until he heard the rustling of material and soft footsteps clipping into wet ground. The inu lord glanced over to find the miko standing in the rain with her arms stretched wide and head tipped back. His golden eyes widened as she laughed joyously to herself, turning in a circle while the rain soaked her.

Her wool pleated skirt shed droplet as she spun, frivolously dancing around her thighs as she capered about. She picked at the fringe of the material, laughing to herself; to Sesshoumaru it was a very freeing feeling he got watching her, a weird happiness pulsed somewhere inside.  
_This Sesshoumaru must work better at control, for surely it is 'he' feeling these things,_ the lord thought numbly.

Kagome turned towards him, tipping her head to the side to gather her hair while she trotted back to the tarp before wringing the water out of it,  
"Mm! How refreshing!" The priestess smiled broadly at the demon, her hair plastered to her face and skin flushed a pretty pink.

"That maybe so, Miko. But the resulting consequence is your person is soaked." Sesshoumaru stated bluntly, outwardly not looking overly impressed by her actions.

Kagome gave pause, apparently having decided on a whim that it would be a good decision to dance and play in the downpour,  
"Hmm… I guess you're right. I didn't really think of th-Achoo!"

Sesshoumaru huffed through his nose as Kagome rubbed the tip of hers with her palm before pulling at the damp clothing clinging to her small figure; the water making her clothes look two shades darker. Sesshoumaru watched for a moment more before outwardly sighing heavily and reaching for the clip to his armour.

Kagome glanced up at a metal clicking and the sound of material shifting to see Sesshoumaru pulling his armour over his head and off of his body. The miko inhaled sharply, her widened cerulean eyes sliding down the demon's silk clad body, appreciatively tracing the lines and curves previously hidden by the black armour. His yellow and purple obi pooled on his lap while he pulled off his white and red haori, eliciting a very noticeable gasp from the miko, her cheeks flaming red,  
"Wh-wh-what a-are you d-doing, Lord Se-Sesshoumaru?"

Sesshoumaru easily maneuvered the silk from his shoulders with his one hand before turning to the priestess, pinning her with a flat stare,  
"Remove your clothing."

"WH-Excuse me?!" Kagome blurted, the heat in her face internally travelling down to the junction of her legs, a warmth embracing her body in the chilled clothes she wore.

The inu youkai fought the urge to roll his eyes, only partially understanding the miko's privacy issues – it was more of a human thing,  
"Your clothes are soaked, Miko. If you do not change out of them, you will catch cold."

"I – um, well… Well you g-gotta at least turn away, pervert!" Her tone raised in pitch with her embarrassment. Being chided by the Daiyoukai on her health was not something she really needed to hear from someone that didn't have to worry about immune deficiencies.

The youkai closed his sunlit eyes with a sigh yet turned his face dutifully to the side without further comment, turning a magenta-striped cheek to face her; his arm extended with his outermost clothing draped over it. Once again, Kagome felt a deep urge to reach out and feel those beautiful exotic markings, wondering if the texture was different from the rest of his skin.

Slowly, the priestess straightened her back, unbuttoning the top fasteners of her grey cardigan, her dark eyes downcast, flicking to the demon every so often. She peeled the sweater off of her, the arms turning inside-out with water resistance. Kagome, if possible, blushed harder as she looked down to see the white button up shirt she wore was completely see through; the soaked red ribbon hanging limply over the swell of her breast bone,  
"U-u-uh, you're still not looking, right?" Kagome's tone weakly stuttered through the damp air. Sesshoumaru inwardly sighed.

"No, Miko. This one is still not looking."

Kagome hesitantly pulled at the ends of her ribbon and tugged the red length from her neck then unhooked the buttons to her blouse, drawing back the polyester from her chilled skin. The priestess tried covering her bra with one arm while she tossed her shirt to the side to deal with it afterward, and turned to reach for the offered haori before pausing.

_Crap… My bra is soaked too… And of course Sesshoumaru's haori is white… Dammit. _Kagome gulp, a slight pressure headache beginning to form as she shifted her eyes back to the Daiyoukai.

Sesshoumaru felt the silk slither from his arm as the priestess finally accepted the clothing. He could sense the embarrassment flowing from her like heat from a flame. Respecting her privacy, the lord kept his citrine eyes shut, wondering absently what kind of expression she was currently making. More than likely, she was flicking her eyes to and fro, her whole body red as a tomato.

"O-Okay, I'm done," a reed-thin tone said shakily.

Sesshoumaru turned his gaze to her and froze, eyes widening slightly as the miko shifted her weight back and forth awkwardly, stuttering,  
"It l-looks weird, r-right?"

His clothes hung on her small body, tied at her waist with the dampened red ribbon of her uniform, her collar bone exposed where the haori gaped largely at her neck. Sesshoumaru traced down her wavy damp hair, past her shoulders and stopped at two peaks poking into the silk.

Kagome watched the Daiyoukai's predatory eyes devour her from five feet away, that weird, fuzzy, excited feeling building in the pit of her stomach and slowly traveling downwards.  
She was already surrounded by his intoxicating scent, pine, snow and storms swirling around her in a concord of scents that delighted her. The material seemed thin and flowing, yet also kept the warmth around her.

She blinked cerulean eyes, her knees pushing together in discomfort under his silent stare,  
_Maybe he's regretting lending me his clothes? Maybe he decided he doesn't want them on my human body_, her insecurities riddled her mind with question as Sesshoumaru stood languidly. The inu youkai slid forward, appreciating the view of her legs as much as when she wore her indecent skirt, the white haori draping lower to her knees; his form being so much larger than hers.

Kagome flinched as the youkai brought his clawed hand forward, fingering the cloth of her left sleeve before letting it slide through his grasp,  
"This Sesshoumaru-"

"I'm sorry! I-I'll take it off right away!" Kagome interrupted, clenching her eyes shut as the inu demon mentally startled, his molten gaze flicking from her sleeve to her face, finding her hiding him from her sight.

Sesshoumaru paused before lightly touching his index finger to her chin and raising her face to his, Kagome's eyes flitting open in surprise,  
"This one was under the assumption that you wished your body to remain hidden from him, yet now you offer him this suggestion?"

Kagome blinked stupidly before catching the demon's side of his lips tugging softly, her jaw dropping slightly open,  
_He's… He's smirking at me? He's smirking at me! Sesshoumaru is making fun of me!_

"Th-That's NOT what I meant!" Kagome growled as threateningly as she could with his hand beneath her chin.

"Miko." Kagome blushed, realizing the youkai still had her face captured and how proximal they were,  
"This Sesshoumaru… appreciates his clothing on you."

"Ehh?" Kagome's eyes widened perceptibly, Sesshoumaru's inner youkai purring in satisfaction at her reaction to his attention.

"At least, they are more appropriate in covering your body than your own," The demon continued.

_Why you…._ Kagome mentally seethed,  
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"

Sesshoumaru let his hand drop, citrine eyes studying her,  
"You cannot mean you've been unaware of you strange clothing in this era… Miko, especially one of your status wearing such revealing clothing is almost taboo."

_My… status? What does he mean?_ Kagome fisted a hand, pulling it close to her chest, unaccustomed to the feeling of Sesshoumaru's clothing pulling on her arm,  
"Uh… Lord Sesshoumaru? Why do you call me miko instead of using my name?"

The demon lord turned, sitting down before turning his gaze back to the priestess,  
"I name you your title, it is a sign of respect; has it offended your person?"

Kagome sat as well, curling her legs to the side and smoothing down the pristine silk against her thighs, curling a finger around a couple blades of grass in front of her,  
"Um… Well, no. I guess it hasn't… I just wondered is all. Just so you know, you can call me Kagome…"

"I will consider this."

Kagome nodded with a small smile.

The next morning, Kagome awoke once again surrounded by Sesshoumaru's scent, leaning against something… soft but stable at the same time,  
"Hmm?" Kagome blinked, lifting a half-hidden hand to scrub at her eye before blinking away the blurriness. Silver strands were the first thing that met her sight, shimmering softly in the early morning light.

The miko slowly pulled herself up and yawn, slowly glancing to the side to meet a certain inu youkai's gaze,  
"BWAH! I'm so sorry I slept on you!" She burst out abruptly, pulling her hands in front of her in protection, waving them back and forth,  
"Y-You could've woken me up!"

Sesshoumaru looked down his nose at the priestess before silently turning away, only speaking after a moment,  
"It was not much of a both to this one… This Sesshoumaru also thinks his other was soothed by your presence."

Kagome paused,  
_Oh, his inner demon was happy with it, maybe that's why he didn't get me to move… or couldn't?_  
"Oh… Well, whatever the case was; thank you I guess. You make a pretty nice pillow."

Kagome turned a small smile to the youkai, only to receive a flat glare that had her almost regretting saying it, the intensity making her turn away with a nervous laugh.

It was now mid-afternoon and the group was well on their way through the forests bordering the Western lands; Kagome back in her own dried clothes with everyone else none the wiser. They came to a well-worn path, travelling Northwest until they happened upon a structure built for the travelling monks and priestesses that Kagome had told Sesshoumaru of earlier,  
"There is no need for any of you to be with this Sesshoumaru on his rounds, it will hinder my speed. I shall go alone and return here within a few days," The demon spoke with finality, turning to the group.

Kagome nodded softly, looking to the structure with a small smile;  
_He listened to what I wanted and brought us to wait here… That's so thoughtful. A lot better than waiting in the forest with possible rain again._

It had been a day and a half since Sesshoumaru had left, the two children played incessantly, always finding new things to do and imagining new games to play. Kagome watched over them, occasionally speaking with Jaken about trivial things, generally ending in her throwing punches or kicks in frustration to the youkai's ignorance or rudeness.

"Kagome, can we go outside and play?" Rin and Shippou were looking at her with big, round, hopeful, shining eyes.

Kagome laughed merrily and hugged the children to her,  
"Of course, I'll just read in here for a bit. Lay out some clothes near the fire so they are warm when you come in from the rain, Jaken can accompany you."

Kagome turned the page of Amber Gaze, a book about a young girl who was the sole survivor of a blaze, scarred and traumatized, and how she tried to overcome her fears and insecurities. Just as she was getting to a good part in her novel, she heard an odd noise and two simultaneous yells in the distance,  
"JAKEN!"

The priestess paused, her blue gaze raising to the straw mat door, widening before she dropped her book and scrambled to her feet as she heard a sharp girl's scream and Shippou yell,  
"INUYASHA, NO!"

Kagome burst out of the small structure to see InuYasha's red-clad body spin and roundhouse kick the young fox demon who small frame was air bourn before slamming into the ground and rolling to a stop, unconscious.

"SHIPPOUU!" Kagome's voice pierced the air as she ran towards him, dropping to her knees in the mud and cradling him to her, tears forming in her eyes as her hands became sticky with Shippou's blood leaking from his mouth and nose.

The miko frantically looked around, past the hanyou in front of her in search of the other young one, catching sight of the girl's limp body lying face-down near where InuYasha had kicked Shippou,  
"InuYasha, you bastard! What the hell did you do?!" Kagome screamed, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes; mixing with the rain drops falling as she began to become overwhelmed.

The inu hanyou scowled deeply, his lighter golden eyes piercing into her from above, his gaze threatening. Kagome blinked through the water trailing in her eyes, glaring back at the demon she'd loved for four years of her life, and for the first time feeling the stirrings of fear.

InuYasha reached down, gripping at material at her neck and drawing her to her feet while pushing Shippou to the side, bringing his face close to hers,  
"I waited SO long to get you back," he growled softly, pushing his nose into her hair and inhaling. Kagome tensed, pulling her hands up to push at his chest.

"I-InuYasha, le-let me g-go!" she growled with as much conviction as she could muster, her cerulean eyes widening as InuYasha tightened his hold, pulling her against his body. She could feel his predatory excitement digging into her hip, adrenalin pumping through her body as her throat closed tightly; a squeak squeezing past her lips.

"Let's go, Kagome," the inu through her over his right shoulder, hooking his right arm behind her knees and snaking his left hand up to her ass, giving one cheek a quick clutch that had Kagome tensing her body again, her heart thudding painfully in her chest.

"Let me d-down, InuYasha! Leave me alone! Don't touch me!" She yelled, beginning to squirm, soon realizing that only seemed to delight him more.

"No! I waited long enough, and now that bastard isn't here to break us apart, I know you want this too, Kagome, we both have for a long time, it's okay; I feel the same way," The half-demon's ramblings had Kagome's head pounding, her pupils dilating and shrinking rapidly.

"What… do you mean… InuYasha, let me down! Let go! InuYasha!" her voice elevated sharply,  
"S… Se… SESHOUMARUUUU!"

Kagome's voice echoed in the surroundings in her own ears, fear colouring her tone as the hanyou carried her off, running of fleeting feet to get away from the place covered in his brother's group's scents.

Sesshoumaru turned, swinging his arm down to bear his whip on a lower class demon that had been terrorizing a human village. It wasn't that he was protecting the humans so much as he refused to allow cur such as that to reside in his lands. The kill was swift, the air carrying the acrid scent of acid as the inu youkai turned on the heel of his boiled leather boot, leaving the carcass for the village men, the least they could do would be to dispose of the body since he himself had disposed of the threat.

A weird feeling tugged in his body, his amber gaze raising to the sky as heaven's tears continued to fall as they had for two days straight now. The inu relished the feeling of each drop tickling his skin like the tips of so many feathers trailing his cheeks, closing magenta-banded eyes and inhaling in the air.

The rain washed out many scents, blending them with the earth, the smell of pine filtering through his senses and making him feel at home. His instincts told him to return to his pack, a nagging feeling pulling in the back of his mind. Gathering his ki together into a ball, he flew off on his youki cloud, heading Southeast.

The closer he got to his pack, the stronger the feeling got that something was wrong. He burst into the forest, navigating with unparalleled prowess. His youki filled the air as he landed, striding forward towards the house before his hearing caught small gasping cries. Yellowed eyes widened as he flew into the structure, his eyes landing on Rin who curled in the corner, an unconscious Shippou's prone form beside her, the kit's head resting in her lap,  
"Lord Se-Se.. Sesshoumaru…" the young girls voice cracked as tears ran down her face, one eye nearly swollen shut, black and purple inflaming the skin.

Sesshoumaru's youkai raged inside of him, someone having hurt what he considered a daughter enraging him. Red and blue eyes searched her body, lowering to his knees beside her and leaning forward, sniffing at her face.

A low rumbling burst from his mouth as he caught the distinct scent of his hanyou half-brother, anger flash-flooding his person,  
"Lord Sesshoumaru… K-Ka-Kagom-me! I-InuYasha… t-took Kagome…" sobs wracked her small body, the youkai calming enough to draw the small girl against his body with his arm as she tried to finish her sentences,  
"I t-tried to st-st-stop him… He, he took her! Please, Lord Se-Seshoumaru, b-bring her b-back."

Sesshoumaru leaned forward, his silky tongue grazed Rin's skin where it was bruised, a custom between Inu youkai to acknowledge wounds. Rin's eyes (or eye) widened, the lord never having shown her so much personal attention before now that she secretly was so pleased she thought it worth it to put up with the pain and fear,  
"We will get her back," the voice emitting from his figure had long since stopped scaring Rin, the animalistic duel-toned youkai stood, his youki began gathering around him, pushing and pulling at his clothes, his argent hair dancing around him,  
"We will return, Rin. Do not leave this cabin. We shall have our vindication."

Kagome let out a cry as InuYasha dumped her unceremoniously on the ground, her wide blue eyes looking into the jealous face of who she once considered one of her best friends. InuYasha stared hungrily down at the girl before him, opening his mouth and licking the tip of a fang,  
"See? You want this too, Kagome. We're meant to be together; you aren't supposed to stay with my asshole of a brother."

Kagome tried to scoot back away from him, her breath beginning to come in short gasps,  
"I-InuYasha… p-please, stop this… You don't want to do this… I don't…"

"Sure you do, Kags, we've always wanted this," InuYasha said convincingly, lowering himself to his knees and crawling over her prone form as she tried to scurry back, a tree trunk preventing her from going further.

Kagome broke out into a cold sweat, her dilated pupils locked onto the form above her as he lowered a clawed hand, sliding to through the red ribbon around her neck, slitting the material facilely. She tried to jerk back, her shoulder blades biting into the bark.

The inu hanyou slid his eyes to half-mast, grabbing the wrists she pushed at him with in one hand while he used the other to grab the bottom of her cardigan and flipped it over her neck and head, succeeding in trapping her arms behind her as she struggled,  
"Inuya-InuYASHA NO!" Kagome twisted from side to side, her tone becoming high and panicky as he started picking at the buttons high on her collarbone.

Kagome was in complete shock, her mind unable to completely comprehend what was happening, the fight or flight response surging through her body yet she was unable to do either. The hanyou sat on her legs, her cardigan tangled around her elbows and wrists,  
"Please, InuYasha…" Kagome's eyes rimmed in tears, raindrops cooling her now exposed stomach,  
"Let me go…"

InuYasha stared into her eyes, the gleaming citrine colour reminding her so much of the inu lord yet so incomparably different. She shivered violently as a clawed hand tickled up the inside of her thigh, a fresh pump of adrenaline pulsing through her body threw her into a new fight,  
"Please! InuYasha, InuYasha no! PLEASE!"

The inu hanyou smiled silkily,  
"It's okay Kagome, everything will be okay now, don't worry. I'll be gentle; it'll be like we always wanted it to be…"

The miko's tears overflowed, trailing down her cheeks and mixing with the rain, her eyes and the tip of her nose becoming red. Absently she could see the drops pooling on her chest and stomach, every drop that touched her bra sinking into the smooth material and disappearing leaving only a slightly darker black to note it's once apparent existence. Kagome squeezed her eyes shut, pushing the tears out from behind her lids as she opened her mouth and screamed as loud as she could,  
"SESSHOUMARUUU!"


	8. You're going to come back

Chapter 8

_- The miko's tears overflowed, trailing down her cheeks and mixing with the rain, her eyes and the tip of her nose becoming red. Absently she could see the drops pooling on her chest and stomach, every drop that touched her bra sinking into the smooth material and disappearing leaving only a slightly darker black to note its once apparent existence. Kagome squeezed her eyes shut, pushing the tears out from behind her lids as she opened her mouth and screamed as loud as she could,  
"SESSHOUMARUUU!" – _

InuYasha crashed his mouth down onto Kagome's, a sharp pain shooting through the silky skin of her lips; the young miko forcefully turned away, a dull thudding thrummed through head as the hanyou manually turned her face back to him, forcibly holding it there.

InuYasha pulled back, looking into her cerulean eyes as the rain fell down around them, unnoticed by both. He reached with his free hand to her shoulder, tightening his hand around her wrists behind her, clenching the grey cardigan. Kagome's eyes widened as he hooked a claw beneath her bra strap, dragging it slowly past her shoulder as he stared at her. Goose bumps burst all over her skin, the blood seeping from her face as her fear heightened once again,  
"In-InuYasha, please… please stop this…"

The hanyou's ears twitched, pulling back slightly as Kagome's bottom lip quivered, the smell of her salty tears mingled with the pine scent of the forest as he moved to the other shoulder, slipping the other bra strap off while he caught her gaze,  
"It's okay, Kagome, you'll realize soon how much you want this."

"Se-Sesshoumaru…" whispered past her bruised, swollen, quivering lips.

"Stop! Stop saying his name!" The hanyou cried almost in desperation, a short bark of laughter that bordered more on a sob before he crashed his lips once more onto hers, his tone sounding more as if he were trying to convince himself than he was her,  
"We'll be together again! It'll be like it was!"

The hanyou grasped her grey cardigan even tighter against her wrists, a distinct ripping sound and a tug on her skin let the miko know her sweater now contained a few too many holes. Kagome blinked the water from her eyes, her eyelashes spiking together with moisture as she tried to find her voice.

"I… I can't allow this…" The hanyou clenched his eyes shut with a short shake of his head, as if the movement could forcibly remove the thoughts from his head,  
"He can't… He can't get you too. He's got _everything_; that bastard's never had to fight for a single thing in his life! He doesn't know what it's like! He **can't** Kagome, he can't have you too."

Kagome let out a frightened yelp as her once-best-friend and love interest tore through the remaining buttons of her school shirt in frustration, his hooked fingers snagging the material and tearing through the half of the polyester that barely covered half of her abdomen. Kagome absently noted that she'd need a change of clothes, still completely uncomprehending her position in shock.

"He won't get you… I will have you first…" InuYasha's golden eyes gleamed with a barely concealed delirium that brought Kagome back to herself as the hanyou slipped his fingers into her bra, brushing against her nipple in the process,  
"After this he won't want you, and everything will be better! Yeah! Then I can have you!"

The priestess struggled and begged, her reality suddenly looming in her face, escaping into her mind seemed an impossible task as the half demon drew the material encircling her breasts down to her stomach before becoming disgruntled at his confusion of how to get it off,  
"P-P-Pleeeaaaseeee InuYasha, _PLEASE LISTEN!_ You don't want to do th-AHHH!"

Her words transitioned sharply into a harsh yell as InuYasha ripped through the material, her body jerking roughly; a lingering burning pain barely registered to her in her adrenaline-laden state. InuYasha sat back just slightly to look down at her body, her buds peaked in the cold elements around them and from the fear seeping from her body.

InuYasha's pupils dilated as his sun kissed gaze dragged over her smooth unblemished skin, down over her collarbone, smoothing into the valley between her breasts, flicking over the pink tinted skin of her nipples; down to the gliding surface of her navel and to the guiding ridges of her hipbones. The hanyou licked his lips deliciously at what he saw while Kagome's bottom lip quivered violently; shutting her eyes as if she could pretend it were all a dream.

Kagome's eyes shot open as she felt a moist, warm tongue trailing up her navel, bucking her hips in panic as she turned her shoulders back and forth, desperate to get InuYasha's tongue, and by extension InuYasha, off of her body,  
"No, no, no, no, no! InuYasha! Stop!"

A scream tore from her throat as the demon straddled her hips, forcing her struggles to attenuate,  
"It's going to be okay, Kagome, you'll see," he insisted, leaning forward and nuzzling his nose against her collar bone and nipping lightly, inhaling her heady scent with half-mast eyes. The miko continued to protest, her inflexion high with distress,  
"Shh, don't worry," it was meant to be soothing, but to the young girl his tone was drowning in delirium.

Kagome's gaze went skyward, the rain falling around them from the darkened clouds mingled with the salty tears stinging her bloodshot eyes. A sob escaped past her lips as the hanyou lowered his face to her chest, drawing a nipple into his hot mouth.

Sesshoumaru's barely contained youki burst forward as he entered the section of forest containing his intended and his half-brother, the scent of her terror saturated the air even through the downpour that continued.

His red eyes narrowed darkly, a guttural growl rumbling through the air as the trees flew past, the hanyou and his miko coming into sight. Stark blue pupils caught the hanyou pulling back from her exposed chest, her clothing torn and tattered, and the miko unable to conceal her sobs of terror any longer.

"KAGOME!" his tremendous snarl ripped through the air, InuYasha barely having time to look sideways at his full-blooded brother before Sesshoumaru tackled him sideways, a feral expression marring his beautiful features into a terrifying mask. The baser of Sesshoumaru's instincts pulled to the forefront of his consciousness, bloodying his claws into hanyou flesh, tearing mindlessly while growling ferociously all the while.

What little blood left in the priestesses face drained into a stark parlor; azure eyes absorbing the scene with mild detachment, almost as if she were watching a movie. The only real feeling through her was relief as she pulled her arms from their material bonds and fought the trembling while she pulled the ruined material of her white shirt across her bared chest.

The miko blinked in horrified awe, dark blood speckling her right cheek as Sesshoumaru drove his right shoulder into InuYasha's neck before twisting to tear through the skin of his chest. The robe of the fire rat parted like water before the Daiyoukai's elongated claws; InuYasha crying out harshly as he struggled, attempting to claw back.

Kagome shakily got to her feet, stumbling forward with a soft whisper,  
"S-Stop… Stop, please…" her weakened tone fell upon deaf ears as the inu youkai were too absorbed to listen. The hanyou curled the claws of his right hand as he slashed; managing to open four deep lacerations on Sesshoumaru's already striped cheek, dragging his hand from just below the youkai's golden eye in a semi crescent to the bottom of his chin, blood rushing forward to coat his tanned skin.

Sesshoumaru snarled in rage, the markings on his face and wrist growing thicker and jagged, red eyes narrowing.

"Sesshoumaru… I-InuYasha… Please stop fighting…" Kagome's tear-laden tone flowed past her lips as she numbly stumbled forward, her hands splayed in front of her for balance and a subconscious sign of harmlessness. An acrid smell filtered through the air as Sesshoumaru's poisoness nails glowed green, a soft hissing from the drops landing on them. The hanyou and youkai barely noticed that she'd move by the time she had staggered up to their sides, a hand on each of their arms.

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened as InuYasha's claws glanced off of his armour and flew from their intended path directly burrowing themselves into Kagome where her collar bone and shoulder met. Time froze for the three, all of them showing similar surprised expressions at InuYasha's hand still ensconced in her skin,  
"Ka…Kagome…" the hanyou's tone sounded guilt-ridden despite what he'd been trying do earlier; he'd felt justified and certain then, never actually intending to hurt her.

Kagome flinched, a noise of pain escaping her throat as InuYasha tried to slowly remove the four daggers, blood slowly seeping into her wet and ruined white shirt; Sesshoumaru's youkai snapped back to himself as she cried out, abruptly shoving his hand through the firerat robe and into his half-breed brother's stomach, his claws emerging on the other side as InuYasha fought not to yell in pain,  
"I should kill you," he snarled dangerously, jerking his arm back from InuYasha stomach, using the momentum turning his body as the hanyou feel to his knees on the forest floor, his hands hovering in front of his wound.

Kagome blinked as Sesshoumaru bent his knees, managing to cradle her in his singular arm before pushing himself off with strong legs, her shock caused from her injury sedated her reactions as the youkai whisked her off towards an unknown destination, the miko merely blinking the rain from her eyes, her expression still stunned.

Kagome blinked, a burning sensation was flaring through her left shoulder. She whimpered lightly when she tried to sit up; groaning and clenching her eyes shut as vertigo barrelled into her like an out of control truck, flooring her once more. She felt the tips of claws lightly skirting her forehead before the warm flesh of a hand laid over her skin,  
"Miko…" Sesshoumaru's baritone rumbled softly, distantly she could still hear the rain falling.

Once again, the young girl blinked cerulean eyes open, shifting only her blurry eyes to glance at the citrine gaze that stared back,  
"Sesshou…maru… Where are… we."

The demon glanced to the aperture of their current dwelling, a typical youkai hovel carved out of the mountainside rock,  
"We are just East of the Western lands, InuYasha… travelled pretty far with you."

A chilled breeze alerted to girl to her lack of clothing, embarrassment forced her through the pain to painfully draw her arms over her chest only to feel the soft silk of Sesshoumaru's haori draped across her. The sound of material ripping caused her to flinch violently, fear and a rush of adrenaline pushing her upright and to abruptly slide herself back against the wall, small rocks scraping at soft unconcealed skin as she stared at Sesshoumaru with wide eyes.

The inu youkai flicked his eyes back, holding shredded remains of her white-stained-red shirt in his hands,  
"I apologize to have startled you, miko. Your being mortal, I am aware I must dress your wounds, and it seemed unlikely that you would be able to repair this clothing."

Kagome swallowed sharply as her heartbeat still pounded in her head, giving Sesshoumaru a weak nod,  
"O-Oh… okay," she stuttered, pulling the haori high on her chest. She couldn't help but noticed the half-healed claw marks scissoring down his face and feel guilty.

"I must ask you miko to please refrain from clothing yourself until I am able to clean your wounds and wrap them," he spoke softly, slowly tearing the last piece into two. Kagome watched as he got to his feet and stepped out into the rain, droplets quickly seeking refuge into the shoulders of his kosode as he place some strips on a rock to soak in the water.

Kagome took a minute to glance around, the dwelling wasn't overly small, comfortable for the two of them, a small fire crackling merrily in the center that easier heated the interior, buffeting her skin from the majority of the chill from the rain. Outside a forest surrounded the base of the mountain the cave resided in, the sky still darkened to make it impossible to note the time of day. She caught a glint of light flash off of his plated armour the stood empty against the wall.

She slowly lifted the haori away from her to peek at her body; several accidental claw marks scratched and criss-crossed her side of hips, a couple bite marks centered around her chest and left areola. She noticed some dried and flaking blood dripping down her from her shoulder, leading to the wound where InuYasha had accidentally stabbed her.

The priestess lifted her hand, fingers gently trailing over the raised edges of the wound eliciting a hiss a pain,  
"I shall clean them now if that is alright, miko," The Daiyoukai spoke in soft low tones as if he were scared he would frighten her.

Kagome lifted her eyes to his as he kneeled beside her with some larger remains of her soaked shirt decidedly not suited to be used as bandages. She nodded slightly, pulling his haori tight against her as she clenched her eyes shut, the blood rising in her cheeks as she slowly gathered her courage, stiffly lowering the material away from her skin.

Sesshoumaru looked upon her small figure, but instead of being entranced by her, his eyes flashed red in concealed anger at her wounds. He had already changed her, or rather, to save her modesty he'd laid his white and red silk haori over her before inserting his hand underneath and masterfully drawing a sharp claw through the ruin of material – thus only having looked at the worst of her wounds (her shoulder) and saving the rest for later. Kagome flinched back as he reached forward to help her lay; staying Sesshoumaru's hand as his eyes flickered back to hers, awaiting her permission to touch her.

With skin still quite obviously brightly flushed, she barely nodded once more, stretching her body slowly back to lay down, Sesshoumaru having spread his fur comfortably beneath her back. The Daiyoukai glanced to her glazed over eyes once more before he turned and grasped one of the water soaked strips between slim, graceful fingers, playing the material gently over the scratches and bites on her body. He tended to her with an almost loving touch, pausing when she jumped, flinched, inhaled or hissed in pain.

It was her shoulder that took patience; slowly scrubbing at the wound, the inu watched as the white material turn pink, then a soft red, then a deep crimson red as her wound continued to bleed. The Daiyoukai examined the lacerations closer, the scent of her blood heady in the air around them as he lowered his face, moving to examine it at different angles.

Kagome fought the strong urge to flinch as silky soft hair slid down over his shoulder and brushed against her side. She became mesmerized by trying to catch sight of the silver glints as he shifted around, ever elusive plays of firelight shimmering in millions of strands of the moon. The priestess had completely lost herself in the swinging strands when she felt a soft, hot tongue slide over her wounds; her eyes shot wide as a gasp sucked into her lungs.

Sesshoumaru lifted his head, his red rimmed blue iris's stared at her filled with question and what looked to be worry,  
"Did we hurt you? Are you okay? We tracked our intended's scent as fast as we could, the rain was inhibiting," his duel tone rumbled apologetically, rambling as he reached out, his hand coming up to graze the side of her cheek. Kagome froze, silently amazed by the emotion Sesshoumaru's youkai freely displayed for her; anger, worry, question… She didn't need to study his gaze to get insight into what was going on in his mind.

"I um… I am… Okay. I… Thank you… Thanks for saving me, Sesshoumaru…" her voice became thick with tears; salty liquid brimmed and flowed over her eyelashes.

The demon brushed her cheek, catching the shining liquid onto his thumb as he frowned softly. He leaned forward and nuzzled into her neck, inhaling her scent to calm himself. She smelled like the soft lingering of vanilla extract, sweet and delicious, mixed with the foresty smell of pine and mud from the freshly fallen rain; InuYasha's scent still encased parts of her skin, egging Sesshoumaru's basic needs to cover it up with his own, to claim the girl in front of him so no other could have her.

Kagome's small frame trembled beneath him as she lifted up shaky arms to wrap around him eliciting a soft growl of approval, the alpha in him enjoying the role of protector. She sniffed softly, her face distorting into sadness as a sob squeezed past the lump in her throat; the emotions raging inside of her began to become too much to handle as the miko let out a strangled cry, burying her face into the demon's shoulder as she finally let go and cried like her heart was breaking apart.

The Daiyoukai lifted his face from the crook of her neck, his eyes blazing with hatred for the hanyou that caused his intended such feelings of fear, betrayal and pain. He allowed the young girl to cry in his arms, pouring the emotions of her heart to lay on the ground in front of him, her tears freely flowing over soft, pinkened cheeks, disappearing into the soft silk of his kosode and dampening his chest.

Kagome sniffed, her sinuses packed and her eyes puffy and red. She sat back, stabilizing herself on one of the demon's shoulders, scrubbing her face with the other as she mumbled softly,  
"I'm sorry…"

The Daiyoukai cocked his head sideways, his reddened eyes staring unyieldingly at her,  
"Do not apologize for being strong for too long, this one and the other understands our intended's cause for tears."

The priestess raised sullen blue eyes to his, confused for a moment at his words of 'this one and the other' before recalling the odd speech the youkai used to differentiate himself and Sesshoumaru. She inhaled sharply at the cold strip of material that dabbed at her shoulder again, goose bumps rising on her warmed flesh.

"Can I… Help clean the wound on your face?" She asked softly, her blue eyes unwaveringly still held his. The youkai nodded softly, giving Kagome the permission she required to lift one of the soaked pieces of white polyester to his face, dabbing gently at the half dried blood on his wound.

She could see in her peripheral vision the Daiyoukai staring at her while she tended to his, her gentle ministrations slowly scrubbing away all of the blood to reveal a neat wound, the edges perfectly sliced and healing well.

"This one requests to clean your wounds by other means," his breath whispered across her face, his gaze intense enough to make her shiver while she contemplated then nod, slowly allowing herself to be pushed onto her back again, stretching out and clenching her fists, closing her eyes in embarrassment once more.

Sesshoumaru leaned over her body, slowly lapping his tongue silkily over her shoulder; her hiss of pain tugged something deep inside him. He closed magenta lined lids; the taste of her coppery human blood layered his tongue like fine wine, forcing the youkai to abnegate a groan that was itching its way up his trachea.

Sesshoumaru came back to himself as he finished with the deepest wound InuYasha caused, his citrine gaze half lidded as he watched the seductive pulse dancing in her jugular vein.

Absently, he knew he should pull back now, the other wounds were minor and would not require much assistance in healing,  
_But I do not… want to._ His voice rang clear in his head as he moved a little further to her collar bone, the tip of his nose skimming her soft skin,  
_I want to keep tending to her… why? The miko can heal well enough on her own now but… I do not want to stop. The other has quieted; he seems sufficed by just getting the worst wound cleaned, perhaps thinking I would not have even done that much for her._

The demon gave a slow blink as his eyes skirted the expanse of soft skin that encompassed the majority of his vision. He closed his eyes once more, sliding the warm muscle from his mouth to drag lightly across a bite mark, her scent clouding his mind; lowering his mouth to her skin to kiss it softly as Kagome wriggled her body beneath him, a slow burn beginning to heat inside of her.

Sesshoumaru encased the bite mark in its entirety, enough that Kagome could feel the soft press of fangs on her skin, his lips pulling back slightly. The sensuality of the situation hit the miko as shivers danced through her, her blue eyes sliding to half-mast while her hands absently encircled the demon above her, the left hand burying itself into his soft cascade of argent hair while the other came to rest on his shoulder blade.

The demon swirled his tongue one last time around that particular mark before moving to the next, his golden eyes opened to see the priestess swallow, the movement of her throat catching his attention like a moth to a flame. Sesshoumaru pushed his tongue against one of his fangs, an aching feeling pulsed in him, begging him to mark her as his, to coat her in his youki and defend her like a treasure.

Kagome squirmed, flinched and twitched as Sesshoumaru made his rounds on the bites and scratches over her abdomen and hips; the scent of her arousal hanging thick in the air unbeknownst to her as his bangs tickled her flesh whenever he moved. She raised her head up to look down at the porcelain skin of the youkai, his golden gaze flicking up to meet hers causing the priestess to freeze,  
_Se…Sesshoumaru… Sesshoumaru is doing this… The actual one- wait… The other is also the 'actual' one, but this isn't his youkai, it's just… him…_

The Daiyoukai saved what he considered the best (and worst) bite mark for last, holding her stare as he slowly moved up to her left breast, slowly trailing his tongue over the bite on her areola, the tips of his fangs just visible under his parted lips.

Kagome's breath hitched sharply, unable to break the focus between them; an unfamiliar hot wetness meeting in the junction of her legs causing her to squirm. Unintentionally, the miko pulled him closer to her chest, a new kind of adrenaline racing through her veins as he drew her nipple into his mouth; a soft growl vibrating through her body from the one that now moved to lay over her, holding most of his weight off of her with his hand brace by her side.

The demon pushed himself further up her body, leaning his face down to hers, his sunlit eyes met with her night kissed ones; locking her gaze before brushing his lips against hers, the soft wisps of their breath mingling together.

Kagome found herself entranced, the sight and feel of his hard body floating over hers doing bad things to her libido. She found herself growing brazen, closing her eyes and forcibly connecting their lips, the hand that still resided in his hair slid to cup the back of his neck, drawing him in.

The demon lowered his body against hers, enjoying the feel of her curvy body moving beneath him; pressing his hips into hers and nipping at her bottom lip. Kagome grinded back against him, a surge of excitement going through her at the hard bulge in his hakama pushing against her body as he moved to nibble her neck,  
"Se…sshouuu..maruu," her voice drawled, instantly being cut off by the Daiyoukai's mouth crashing down on hers; his tongue pushing into her open mouth to explore, Kagome groaning softly against the intrusion.

Sesshoumaru pulled back away from her, allowing the human to breathe deeply; the only clue that he was out of sorts in any way was the soft pink flush the tinted his cheeks, almost invisible in the crackling firelight. Kagome's face visibly blushed as she gasped in air, his weight on her body becoming foreign, though not unwelcome, as her senses came back to her, her blue eyes widening.

The Daiyoukai sat back, blinking his golden eyes down at the picture of arousal in front of him, a soft guilt beginning to rise in the back of his mind,  
"… This Sesshoumaru apologizes… I should not have taken advantage of the situation," he spoke gently, raising a magenta striped arm to rest his palm over his eyes, moving away from the seductive miko below him.

"N-No, I um… I mean, I …" Kagome fought to find the words she was trying to say, sitting up while she drug his haori to cover her chest once more, the pain from the bites and scratches seemingly subsiding already. Her flushed skin began to cool as she noticed the fire beginning to die down, an ironic symbolism for the chemistry recently shared between the two in Kagome's mind.

She looked to the ground, flashes of InuYasha holding her down making her shiver, a pained look clouding her eyes,  
"It wasn't… the same…" She spoke so gently after a time that it surprised Sesshoumaru that she'd continued at all,  
"This wasn't the same at all… It wasn't… scary. And unwanted…"

The youkai slid his gaze back to the young human, still internally feeling as if he'd taken advantage of her in a time of vulnerability. Kagome slid her arms into the over-large coat, the sleeves dragging almost inaudibly over the rocky floor as she crawled forward on her hands and knees, the haori hanging open, ignored by the miko who figured that he'd seen it all anyway, why bother being bashful now.

Sesshoumaru's citrine eyes widened perceptibly as she went up on her knees, edging forward before she place her open palms against his chest, her midnight eyes beginning to pool with tears,  
"It's really… really… different," she sniffed, her fingers fisting into his kosode, the look in her eyes clearly begging him to understand,  
"I just… I… I-I n-need… to be…" her voice broke painfully, the youkai sliding his arm around her lower back as she buried her face in his chest and cried.

Sesshoumaru sighed almost peacefully, the rain still falling in the pitch black outside of their dimly lit cave; shadows dancing, throwing them both into sharp relief. The demon admired the way the light played over her face, her long lashes still spiked with wetness. The miko had inevitably ended up crying herself to sleep on his chest, her small frame still cradled in his arm.

_She feels so … tiny, and frail. Is it a mistake to want to care for this mortal?_ Sesshoumaru blinked, his gaze lowering to the his clothing that gaped largely at her chest, her collarbone deliciously drawing his eyes as her head lolled against his shoulder,  
_Perhaps father was correct all along? Could it be that this Sesshoumaru was wrong?_

The Daiyoukai curled his hand up over her bosom, dragging a clawed finger down the offending bone that lead across to her shoulder, his eyes trailing the path his finger slid,  
_She's so… young… and innocent…_ The demon's eyes narrowed slightly,  
_Will I defile her to touch her? This one cannot help but wonder…_

Once again, Kagome woke up on a hard muscled body belonging to the 'frigid' Lord of the Western Lands; her midnight eyes fluttering open and her hand coming up to rest on something warm covering her shoulder. The miko of surprised at the warmth of the firmness and contours of what she touched, her eyes lazily sliding over to discover the Daiyoukai's hand, his arm curling down around her chest, holding her steadfastly to his body.

"Miko," the chest she laid against rumbled softly behind her. Kagome leaned her head back farther, her eyes meeting Sesshoumaru's,  
"How do you feel?"

"Thoroughly surprised," she answered immediately, then realized she hadn't meant to say it out loud as the Daiyoukai quirked a single brow,  
"I mean, I guess I'm surprised that you asked…"

"Hn."

"Oh here we go again," she stated flatly, unimpressed by the lack of vocabulary one so obviously well education put into practice.

The priestess rolled forward onto her feet, drawing the loose open haori tighter against her body,  
"Thanks for… letting me sleep on you last night…"

"And here I thought you'd be more thankful to me for listening and providing a shoulder to cry on rather than a seemingly comfy place to lay your head," his tone was slightly mocking, a small smirk flitted across his lips as she flushed bright red like she did so often in his company.

"Yeah, well, I guess that too," she huffed, looking around the ground at the shredded remains of her clothes, refraining just barely from letting a shudder slide down her spine.

"Wrap this around yourself, Miko," Sesshoumaru was also on his feet, the priestess turning to find him offering the yellow and purple silk obi he tied around his armour.

She glanced to the expensive looking material and back into the Daiyoukai's eyes,  
"Are you… sure you want me to wear this?"

Sesshoumaru didn't answer her, merely continued to hold out his arm until she reluctantly accepted the material, muttering a soft thank you while wrapping it around her waist. Kagome turned to see Sesshoumaru staring disapprovingly at her,  
"What?" She demanded, the damn blood rushing to her face again.

The demon blinked before taking the few steps to cover the distance between them, deftly untying the horrible knot she'd made, leaving her embarrassed and baffled,  
"What're you doing?!"

"It would be a disgrace to see such fine fabric go to waste because a young girl didn't know the right way to tie it," his reply came out in a flat tone, almost like he were just stating fact and not insulting her.

"Wh-wha-? But—huh?!" As always, Kagome was ever the conversationalist, constantly at a loss for words in front of the Daiyoukai. She made a soft noise in her throat as the demon gave a simple tug and her seemingly 'steady' knot slid loose; holding the edges of the haori together, her modesty having seemingly returned during the night.

Sesshoumaru proceeded to give her instructions as he wrapped the elegant silk around her, mostly 'Hold here,' or 'Pull this,' while intricately spinning the obi around her small waist. He gave a final tug, the material tightening just right; the final product turning out to be the unique way the Daiyoukai wore the obi himself. The silk tied around her waist with a loop of material on each side, meeting in the back were they adjoined the horizontal wrap once more, a long length hanging down in front of her from a perfect bow.

"I feel… a little funny…" She said as a breeze chilled her long bare legs, "or rather, I feel a little bare…"

"Hn… What's funny is that you feel bare when your queer clothes are decidedly much more indecent than this."

"Hey! That's because a skirt is **supposed** to look like that! But I'm supposed to be wearing pants or hakama with this!" The miko defended herself; an indignant tone colouring her voice while internally she was absently wondering how good a nice pair of opaque black tights would go with his haori.

"I am aware that you do not have more clothes and therefore do not wish to get wet, but we should be leaving soon, Miko."

Kagome glanced up to the demon, eager to see Rin and Shippou now that the night passed,  
"If it is alright with you, I would really like to go back to my own time soon to gather more supplies… When Rin got sick I used up a lot of my medication and cooling pads, as well as I could use a couple other things that have… yet to be invented here."

Sesshoumaru stared at the priestess, a nagging suspicion in the back of his head told him not to let her go, that she wouldn't come back to him if he did. He struggled not to scowl,  
_Since when have I thought of her as mine?_

A small voice asked back 'Since when have you not?'

Sesshoumaru decided to take Kagome to the well in InuYasha's forest so that she could travel back to her own time before they would go back to collect the children and Jaken; after all, InuYasha would be suitably incapacitated for the next little while, and Sesshoumaru doubted any other youkai would be stupid enough to attack his pack in his own territory.

They travelled on the Daiyoukai's ki cloud, the cirrus formation soaring the couple through the air at speeds faster than InuYasha had ever run with her. Sesshoumaru had the miko pulled tight against his armoured chest, his arm snaked around her lower back to hold her to him as their hair flicked and fluttered in the rush of wind.

_I wonder… when was it that he started to accept my presence being so close to his?_ Kagome fought to look up into the uniquely striped face, her mind picturing that perfect crescent stationed above his eyes,  
_I remember the times he's tried to kill me… When I've run from him in terror, and now… Now I run to him in terror. How did things begin to change so much? I wonder what he thinks of me now…  
Oh, get a grip Kagome, he allows it because his youkai is pleased about it and that makes his life easier; stop reading into things that don't exist._

Their trip ended as it had started, in silence. The stoic demon landing and dispersing his demon energy; he retracted his arm almost reluctantly, not that the young girl noticed. She stepped up to the edge of the familiar casing, peering down into the inky depths before turning around to say goodbye, the tightening of her throat choking the words off before they could make it past her lips as she caught sight of the youkai's expression.

Sesshoumaru held her gaze effortlessly, his champagne eyes bore into hers with a seriousness that she hadn't seen before,  
"Miko… You're going to come back."

"Of course," she said gently, not exactly noticing that it wasn't really a question, but more of a demand,  
"I promise not to be gone long."

Kagome couldn't pinpoint exactly what, maybe it was in the set of his shoulders, or the hardness in his eyes, but something visibly relaxed in the demon that left the priestess with questions she didn't know how to voice,  
"I won't be gone long, just enough to grab a shower and run to the store to buy some things, say hi to my family.."

"This… Store…"

Kagome quirked a brow before connecting that in the feudal era, there weren't exactly 'stores' here,  
"Um… It's kind of like an indoor marketplace. There are many shelves with items of necessity stocked on them in large quantities."

Sesshoumaru blinked, turning his gaze to the side as he pictured what it would look like; his mind showed him a wooden hut with shelves upon shelves of weapons, poisons and enchanted scrolls and spells. A frown pursed his lips slightly, wondering what the miko needed weapons for, but he dismissed it just as quickly.

_He is… definitely getting the wrong idea. I just know it,_ The girl thought to herself but smiled regardless,  
"Well, I'll be on my way," she said in a cheery voice, sitting on the edge before swinging her legs over.

"I will wait for you here," The youkai spoke softly as Kagome pushed herself off the edge,  
"Kagome."

The twenty year old raven haired girl felt herself enter free fall, an intense urge to flinch twitched in her muscles as her mind froze.  
_"I'll wait for you here… Kagome."_

"He…. He used my name," she said in a dumbfounded tone as she lost her equilibrium on the other side of the portal, falling to her knees in the well house in the future – or rather in the present. If she'd thought more about it, she would've remembered that he'd first used her name when saving her, but her mind strayed her thoughts away from the traumatic events.

"The great… fearsome 'Ice Lord' called me by my name…" She struggled numbly to her feet, pulling herself painstakingly out of the well, absently making a mental note for the millionth time to buy a rope ladder or at least so sort of step stool as pain flared brightly in her shoulder once more.

Kagome smiled brilliantly, her cheeks flushed happily as she exited through the shoji door, closing it behind her before she spun happily in a circle and giggled to herself before glancing down in surprise as something slithered around her knees.

The young priestess fingered the material of the colourful obi with a soft grin before making her way into the house, more excited than ever to collect what she needed and head back into the past.


	9. It is Pleasant

CHAPTER 9

The young priestess pulled open the front door to her home, the familiar smells rushed to meet her senses as she walked into the structure; a lump forming painfully in the back of her throat.

She paused to slip off her shoes, one of the only pieces of her uniform that managed to survive the vicious onslaught of traumatic events of the past few days. Kagome padded down the hallway of her house, peering around the corner to find the back of her mother as her mother meticulously scrubbed at a plate in the sink.

Sensing someone behind her, the older woman glanced over her shoulder before throwing her daughter a loving smile,  
"Kagome! Welcome home, dear! Oh, are those new clothes?"

"M-Mom…" Kagome's voice cracked as she opened her arms, slowly stumbling forward. Her mother's soft brown eyes widened before she dropped the plate she was washing back into the sink with a clang, rushing towards her daughter and wrapping her arms around the younger girl's frame, sinking to the floor as the girl fell apart.

Kagome's mother curled her daughter protectively into her arms, one hair stroking her hair while the other held her steadfastly to her chest, her hands clasped against the smoothest material she'd ever felt as Kagome's heart broke in front of her.

It was some time later that Kagome told her mother the story, still pulled into a protective embrace but both now stretched out across her pink bedspread in her room; spilling the contents of the worst chapter her life had beheld so far.

Her mother didn't speak the entire time, only clenched her fists or rubbed soothing circles on Kagome's back until she finished, leaving out the part of the story when she and Sesshoumaru seemed to become a bit… closer and more …intimate due to his youkai,  
"So… Now you're travelling with this Sesshoumaru character, who happens to be InuYasha's half brother; taking care of Shippou and a human child named Rin, and still trying to defeat Naraku."

Kagome nodded softly,  
"That's about the gist of it."

"You know, Kagome, I sometimes think life is never going to give you a break…"

Her daughter sheepishly laughed, curling her fingers around her mom's as her azure eyes locked onto the vibrant yellow and purple obi slung around her frame. She slowly sat up and winced, her right hand sliding up to grasp at her left shoulder,  
"I'm going to go get this checked out at the hospital. I should get it stitched up and maybe some antibiotics to take back with me to make sure it'll be fine."

Her mother nodded, sitting up herself and straightening the shoulders of her daughter's borrowed clothes, softly rolling the fabric between her fingers,  
"So this is… whose clothing?"

"… Sesshoumaru's…"

"Hm. He smells lovely."

"M-MOM!" Kagome's expression was bewildered, her tone coloured in embarrassment and shock. Though, she had to agree with her mother on that one…

"He's not wondering around half naked, is he?"

Kagome flushed, inwardly thinking that it wouldn't be so bad if he was,  
"No! What the he—why would you think that?"

Her mother smiled knowingly,  
"Oh, just checking. Giving your haori and obi to a young girl doesn't happen every day you know," she winked at her daughter,  
"But… It is such wonderful cloth, what is it?"

"I think… I think I remember him saying spider silk… or silk worm youkai… something like that… Maybe. Maybe I dreamed it," she spoke uncertainly, eyeing the fabric thoughtfully,  
"Could you wash it for me while I get everything I need?"

Her mother nodded, lips lit with a smile,  
"I'll use the washing board to make sure the machine doesn't destroy such a beautiful garment."

Sesshoumaru stared into the inky depths of the bone eaters well in the Forest of InuYasha, his thoughtful golden gaze glimmering as the sun finally began to break through the clouds of misery coating the land of Edo after the recent rainfall. He could smell the magic emitting from the well, an electric static in the air that had the hair on the back of his neck standing at attention. The inquisitive demon felt a tug of curiosity, wondering if he were to try, if it were possible that he could go through the magic portal as well.

_This is nonsense; the miko only just left and this Sesshoumaru is contemplating attempting to retrieve her? Surely she if safe in her our time. This one needs not linger here in this forest to wait for her return, she gave her word._

The youkai placed his hand on the side of the well, calculating golden eyes narrowed unblinking into the dark, his muscles tensed slightly.

Sesshoumaru abruptly straightened his spine, turning on heel and stalking off into the forest once more; his youki surging forth as he gathered his being into a sphere of energy, shooting out across the sky. His dignity would not allow him to wait upon the mortal girl's return like a common dog, nor to try and reacquire her; leaving the only option to return to his pack to check on them before retracing his way to the well.

Kagome cleaned herself up, washing her face and brushing her hair to look presentable to go to the hospital. She caught sight of the wrapped wound in the mirror, the soft brown of dried blood spotting here and there across the old remains of her shirt. The priestess couldn't help a soft smirk that tugged the corners of her lips when she thought about the youkai lord,  
_Ohhhh, Kagome you idiot,_ she mentally growled, _Did you not get hurt enough to learn from the first time? Now what, you go and fall for his brother?! Really?! Because THAT'S the smartest thing to do._

She met her blue gaze in the mirror, watching as her smile faded and a scowl pinched the corners of her eyes while she beat herself up for her own stupidity, observing the soft look of confusion that then enlightened her features,  
_But then… But then he kissed me. It was his demon at first, his youkai blood rising in him, and sometime between cleaning the wound in my shoulder… wi…with his tongue… and kissing me… He was back to himself. Then he… forward… licked… my-my brea… and…_

Kagome lifted her hands, clutching them in frustrated confusion in the sides of her hair,  
"URGH! Stupid dog demons! Why are they so damn confusing!"

The young girl pondered it as she pulled on a clean white camisole and black cardigan over a garnet red skirt, grabbing a purse that she could shove her wallet into on the way out of her room, Sesshoumaru's haori and obi slung over her arm.

"I'm going to get on my way, Mom," Kagome spoke gently as she entered the living room, somewhat reluctantly handing over the clothing,  
"After the hospital, I'm going to stop by the store on the way home, eat dinner here and then be on my way back, okay?"

"Oh, you aren't going to spend the night here, sweety? You usually do so I just assumed," her mother glanced up to catch her daughter's averted eyes and a soft blush; her tone trailing off slightly,  
"Alright, well, take my cell phone and the car… I don't want you walking around injured. Oh, and call me if you need anything, or anything happens."

Kagome caught what looked like a satisfied and knowing smile that caused her to quirk her brow,  
"Okay, same to you. Later, Mom."

It wasn't too long of a wait when Kagome checked into the Emergency at the hospital; the staff were quite adamant about someone seeing her soon with the gaping, half-healed wounds near her collar. She ignored the bustle of the nurses as she sat and waited her turn; pleased when a doctor finally told her that it was only necessary to clean them and put her on antibiotics – Kagome admitted to herself that she was maybe a _little_ reluctant to get the bandages cut off that the youkai lord had wrapped. Memories of a hot tongue tracing her cuts and scrapes had her cheeks positively burning. She swallowed sharply, tuning back in as the Doctor say he'd be able to reduce the scarring if she wanted; but the procedure would be to put her under an anesthetic so they could trim away the edges of the wound to reopen them so that when they were sutured, the skin would heal together – Kagome declined.

She doubted Sesshoumaru wound want to wait that long AND have to deal with the whole process of waiting for it to heal all over again.

With a newly cleaned and bandaged shoulder, Kagome left with a filled prescription of Amoxicillin 500 capsules, making her way back to the little VW Gulf her mother owned parked in the full parkade, bitching to herself about the prices to pay for the short park. She navigated her way through Tokyo to a supercenter MegaMart, thinking of something she could get the kids as a little present from the future. The priestess hummed happily as she travelled the aisles, every now and then stopping to look at something for the kids or pick up a miscellaneous item of food. The priestess grabbed a small stuffed dog and skipping rope for Rin, and a foam play sword for Shippou- silently mourning the loss of their childhood in her own way and hoping to give them a little of it back.

InuYasha opened pain-narrowed golden eyes, groaning through his clenched teeth as he struggled to get himself into a sitting position; the mere hassle of the small task depleting the little energy stores he had, leaving the hanyou sweating and gasping for breath.

Panting, the hanyou pulled himself to rest back against the trunk of the tree nearest to him, his tattered white ears pulling low to his matted hair as he let his head fall back against the tree.  
_I'm… I'm such an idiot. I've destroyed the only beautiful thing in this world that I had… I just… I don't understand… Why did I do it? I just got… I got so angry… That bastard gets EVERYTHING handed to him! Not her too… Not my Kagome… But… But that's just it… She's not mine. She never was, and now will definitely never be. _InuYasha closed his eyes, gnashing his teeth together half in anger, half in pain, lowering his head so his bangs curtained his face as if the act itself would cease the irritating prickling behind his eyelids.  
_I am such an idiot… The stupid, dirty little half-breed… ruins everything he touches. She could have been mine… would have been, once upon a time. Fuck… I couldn't have screwed up more if I'd tried… _

The smell of blood, Kagome's and Sesshoumaru's, hung thick in the air despite the rainfall that had just ended. He lifted his right hand, his claws coated in dried blood from the face of the youkai lord. InuYasha sighed softly before lifting his left hand, looking at the dried blood coating his left fingers to the middle knuckle – reeking of Kagome's sweet scent.

The hanyou lifted his head only to let fall back again, the sharp pain taking his mind away from everything for but a second.  
_It's probably better this way… She was too… pure. The dirty hanyou would sully her… Taint her beautiful light… Fuck._

Kagome opened her azure eyes, in a soft free-fall through the time portal in the bone eaters well. She had a green zippered back pack riding one shoulder as she hauled herself up, for the thousandth time in the last four years, over the edge of the well. Her oceanic eyes travelled up to meet the irate expression of the dog demon lord staring down at her,  
"Ah! Lord Sesshoumaru!" Kagome smiled pleasantly, drawing herself up to stand beside him,  
"You weren't waiting long, were you?"

"Hn."

Kagome's eyebrow twitched, hitching her bag further up on her shoulder, forcing a small smile as she walked beside him,  
"You seem a bit… irritated, is everything okay?"

Sesshoumaru slid golden eyes down to hers, his steps slowing to a stop as Kagome turned to face him,  
"All is well," his baritone rumbled curtly before he reached forward to pull the priestess against him to take to the sky,  
"We will remain at the cottage in the woods of the West until you have healed further."

A smell noise worked its way up Kagome's throat as the youkai reeled her in, her hands going to clench at the shoulders of his kosode as her face was shoved into the crook of his neck. Kagome's eyes widened slightly, a funny feeling warming the pit of her stomach as she became engulfed in the scent of pine and storms. Kagome couldn't help but close her eyes, gently nuzzling closer to his skin, tickling the tip of her nose.

"Miko. Why are you executing disagreeable things to this Sesshoumaru's person."

Kagome absently wondered how the lord managed to even make his question's sound like statements, then thought back to something her mother had mentioned,  
"Sesshoumaru? Has anyone ever told you, you smell really good?"

If the Lord of the West would've had less control, he would have faltered in what he was doing – but being who he was, he covered his imperceptibly widening eyes with a scowl and a sidelong glance towards the crown of the girl nuzzling his neck.  
_When did I become the type of demon that would allow this instead of immediately offing the being that chose to offend this one's person – none the less one that chose to forget my title? Rin's made me soft… And somehow, I fear the miko has even more so. _  
"That is ridiculous," his voice reverberated through his throat as he spoke, further tickling Kagome's nose.

"No, no! It's true! You smell wonderful!" Kagome responded immediately, pulling her face back from the demon's flesh to look into his averted gaze.

"Miko, that is not what I meant."

"Did you mean no one has before?"

"No, that's-"

" Because personally, I think it'd be pretty ridiculous that **no one's** mentioned it… I mean, you must've met a whole bunch of people being who you are… Well, If you didn't kill them before they got the chance to say it."

"No, that is not what I…" Sesshoumaru let his sentence die off in an audible sigh that left Kagome quirking a brow, his head already beginning to thump with dull pain.

"I'm just sayin', I'd be you five yen that I'm not the first – Or even the fifth person to voice my opinion… What?"

The priestess watched a look of resignation flow behind the youkai's wine-hued gaze as he flicked it down to study her for but a moment before looking away,  
"There is just no winning with you…"

Kagome gave Sesshoumaru her best broad smile,  
"Nope! But it's good that you're learning it early!"

The rest of the flight ended without fail, the two touching ground in the forest near the cabin where Rin, Shippou, Jaken and Ah-Un resided. Kagome looked at Sesshoumaru, feeling something was off about his appearance before nearly hitting her head in her stupidity,  
"Lord Sesshoumaru, I forgot, I have your haori and obi – I had them washed, I hope you don't mind…"

Sesshoumaru paused in step, turning as Kagome dropped the green backpack to the forest floor to root around in it before pulling out the material, neatly folded and wrapped in his obi. The youkai lord reached his hand beneath the empty left arm of his kosode, unhooking his armour, fluid from familiarity, and slipped it over his head while Kagome untied his clothing, holding it out by the collar to him.

The youkai lord slipped the outer layer of his outfit on, straightening the sleeve over his amputated member, looking to the young girl, expectantly awaiting his obi. Kagome glanced up and gave him a soft smile,  
"Please, allow me – I've practiced a few times!" she commented, climbing to her feet and draping the obi around her shoulders to give the demon enough time to refuse if he didn't want her to touch him.

Sesshoumaru's silence was him giving her permission in her mind; she slid forward, tugging softly at the shoulders of his haori to straighten it before folding the sides, left over right. Golden eyes watched her soundlessly, observing her surprise as she tried to lift the plated boiled leather armour from the ground, her arm jerking with the resistant weight,  
"Ugh! You've gotta be joking me… That's heavy! How can you wear this all the time?"

"This Sesshoumaru must at least try to give his opponents a chance," his dead-pan tone was a clear give away that he was, indeed, not joking.

"Huh. Were you always so modest?" Kagome asked sarcastically as the youkai easily reached down and acquired the armour from her struggling person – slipping it on and hooking it up correctly.

"This one only speaks the truth, there is not much for me to be modest of, Miko. Modesty is more of a mortal trait regardless, youkai know their strength… Or overestimate. They never belittle themselves."

Kagome stepped up to him, threading her arms around him unhesitantly, encircling his waist with the yellow silk as she continued to speak,  
"Hm. You're right… The demon that has it all – Looks, power both physically and politically – you even **smell** amazing"

"You expect this one to smell less pleasant?" The inu had a strong urge to roll his eyes – which he resisted, deeming the action itself too crass for one of his stature; the girl seemed to have a strange affinity with his scent.

"No, no - Of course not! Look at you! You're the definition, the _embodiment_ of … of perfection, for God's sake!" Kagome sputtered, her cheeks flushing a little,  
"Have you _ever_ wanted? Needed? Anything at all?"

_This Sesshoumaru wants a lot… Needs? It is debatable that this one needs anything._ He stared at her, wondering if the human looking back into his eyes could see anything in their depths.

She scrutinized him, her pupils flicking back and forth into the inky slitted ones above her. Her mind flashbacked to looking down her body at those dark eyes, lust hungered, the pale skin of his face marred by the bright wounds down one side contrasted against her slightly darker abused complexion. Her gaze locked on the pink, hot, wet muscle that glided her skin. Kagome could feel the heat begin to rise in her face, the ever present blush when she was near the youkai lord returning, and averted her eyes down to the obi; hoping Sesshoumaru didn't notice. Seemingly, she was not going to get an answer to this question; and with that thought she tugged the obi into place, admiring her handwork with a nod of satisfaction, before saying gently almost as an afterthought,  
"I didn't really expect you ever had…"

"Alright, well, we should be going now; I'm sure Rin and Shippou are probably anxious by now," her tone bright, trying not to let the disappointment colour her inflexion at his silence. Gathering her bag from the ground, she slipped it back onto her shoulders, leading the way towards their camp. The youkai following almost inaudibly behind her, the weight of his gaze on her back felt discomforting, but she'd be damned if she showed him that.

_No. I do not need anything, silly human girl… When I want something, I take it. Need is a human abstraction, their selfish desires placed into wanton objects, or 'feelings', to justify their existence. Nothing more. Nothing Less._ He's eyes traced the oscillating hem of her deep red skirt, hearing the soft swish of the skin of her legs, passing against each other; mesmerised by the rhythm her body created, all of the little things mortals lived their lives without noticing.

The taciturn demon glanced to his right hand, the red splash of colour on his haori stark against his flesh. He silently lifted his wrist to his nose, sniffing the symphony of new scents now adorning his clothing, Kagome's unique scent layering over them all, as his golden eyes flicked back up to lock on the priestess,  
_Yes. Want is something this one is beginning to become familiar with…_

Sango listened to the rings of Miroku's staff clinking softly together as they walked, each step he took continually annotated by the chimes,  
"Do you think Shippou found her?"

The houshi glanced sidelong to his dearest, a soft smile playing over his lips,  
"Of course I do, Shippou is nothing if not resourceful when it comes to Kagome; come hell or high waters that kit would find a way. I'm certain he's living it up with her right now, eating a sucker or something."

Sango felt a smirk tugging at her lips,  
"You're right… I just… What happened to us?"

"Us?" Miroku paused in step, turning to look at her face on – to his knowledge there was nothing wrong with them… Then again, the mind of a woman was a precarious and fickle thing that sometimes even a man of the cloth could not fathom to begin to comprehend.

Sango stopped too, her brown eyes sliding to the ground at her feet, looking at her sandals for a moment before walking to a nearby fallen tree, sitting upon the log while the monk made his way towards her to do the same. A slight worry had begun bubbling in the pit of his stomach as Kirara jumped into Sango's lap,  
"I mean the group… It just… It all happened so quickly, that I still don't know where everything started to go wrong…"

Miroku rested his staff at his side, silently saying a prayer to Buddha for it not being about 'them', cupping his hands together before he tilted his head skyward,  
"I'm not sure, my love… Perhaps, it was just not meant to be that way. The Gods do work in mysterious ways…"

Sango sighed softly, leaning to the side to rest her head against Miroku's shoulder,  
"… I miss her a lot."

Miroku wrapped his arm around her hips, pulling her close for a semblance of a comfort hug. Sango stiffened sharply, her fist balling as that comforting hand 'oh-so-smoothly' skirted down to her ass, cupping a cheek in an extremely familiar action.

The taijiya spun her body as she stood, Kirara landing softly on the soil while Sango followed through with her open palm. Miroku reeled from the sharp slap, recovering like every other time as Sango turned to stomp away in her customary fashion,  
"INSATIABLE!"

"Ah! But Sango, my love, how am I to be sated if you don't give me anything at all? I am but forced by this accursed hand to take what is needed!"

Sango shot a dangerous glare back towards the man of cloth,  
"Keep talking like that and I'll never give in," she growled threateningly, leaving a crying Miroku to run after her spouting protests of unrequited love and torture of the soul.

The long awaited reunion of the priestess and her kit and Rin was a sight that had drawn a soft pain in the Daiyoukai's chest – and his head. Screams and cries of joy fill the air, shortly followed by Jaken's high pitch claim of Sesshoumaru returning and pledging undying fealty to him. The demon supressed a shiver; closing his eyes as he continued to walk forward, effectively silencing at least one of them as his booted foot came down on the imp youkai below, continuing to walk as if nothing had happened.

Kagome was still on the ground with both of the kids on her, rolling around and laughing – the occasional wince seemingly only noticed by the Daiyoukai as she moved her shoulder. Sesshoumaru walked past and into the cabin, sitting with his back against the far wall and listening to the giggles outside.

"Kagome! Kagome! Will you take us to bathe? My kimono still has blood on it, and Shippou smells funny," Rin stuck her tongue out at the fox youkai as he protested, jumping to her feet to scramble away from him as laughter bubbled up her throat.

The miko pulled herself into a sitting position, her shoulder throbbing sluggishly after all of the fun. She smiled at Shippou chasing the young girl, both of their clothes still dirty from the day before with blood and dirt – truthfully, they both smelled a little… foresty. Truth be told, it was probably the first time that Kagome had returned home and not showered before leaving. At least while travelling with Sesshoumaru, he never denied or made fun of her for her 'strange' inclination to cleanliness,  
"Yes, I'll take you both to bath; we need to clean your clothes as well," she spoke thoughtfully, climbing to her feet to notify the Daiyoukai and grab some supplies,  
"I'll grab some stuff soap and stuff first."

"Oh, oh, oh! Is it the soap with the pretty smell? You used it with me last time we were together! It's… Like- Like peaches! And something… else sweet…" the young human trailed off, a slight scowl on her head as she mentally searched through her vocabulary of fruits and sweet things to try and name the other smell.

Kagome flashed a smile over her shoulder,  
"Yes, I'll bring the shampoo you like," she promised, turning back as she stepped over the thresh hold of the structure with a peaceful sigh.

Azure eyes raised to meet steady gold, a heavy silence hung between the two before Kagome submitted, blinking and lowering her gaze first,  
"I'm, uh… Going to take the children down to the stream to bathe and wash their clothes," she spoke softly while she knelt to rummage through her yellow back pack,  
"Um… Did you want to come too?"

Kagome froze, realizing the offer she'd just given and blushed fiercely, not quite knowing how to retract her statement.

Sesshoumaru blinked, looking back towards the door, the weight lifting from Kagome as he shifted his gaze,  
"No. This Sesshoumaru shall remain in the area here; should you require my assistance, merely yell. I will hear you."

Kagome held but a huff of relief, bundled everything up in her towel and hitched it over her uninjured shoulder; feeling just a slight bit like a certain obese jolly ol' fellow that delivered presents on Christmas eve. She looked to the Daiyoukai, giving a curt nod before trailing into the outside, her eyes searching for the two children,  
"Alright, guys! Let's go!"

Kagome sat by the water's edge, unloading all of the supplies onto the grass, including two extra towels for Rin and Shippou. Shampoo, conditioner, a bar of soap, a stain remover stick, a mini bottle of liquid laundry soap and a small scrub brush to clean their clothes with. She turned back to find two piles of clothes and two very bare-bottomed children running towards the water, incessantly giggling of course. Kagome smiled tenderly, shaking her head gently as she grabbed the material and began with the stain-stick.

Rin turned, brown eyes sparkling as she slapped the water, splashing the fox youkai gleefully.

"Hey!" Shippou protested, shooting forward to jump in the water and splash her back, only to remember he was still shorter than her when he submerged completely, raising to the surface sputtering.

"Kagome! Come in with us! Pleaaaaaase!" Rin pleaded, clasping her hands together in the front of her chest as Shippou – managing to get himself into shallow water – turn and smiled nodded enthusiastically.

Kagome dunked Rin's now clean yukata,  
"I will, just give me a moment to finish here."

The priestess wrung the excess water from the clothes and splayed them over low bushes in the sun, nodding satisfactorily and hoping they'd be dry when they were finished.

Shippou cheered and Rin giggled at her. Kagome shook her head as she climbed to her feet, slowly stripping off the layers of her own clothing and leaving them folded beside the river; hissing in cold discomfort as she stepped into the frigid water. A slight blush rose in her cheeks as she felt her nipples tighten and bud in protest of the abrupt shock to her flesh, causing her to cover herself with a modest hand before she lowered herself down into the water.

"Kagome! Will you wash my hair?" Shippou swam over to her, kicking up water in his wake, a toothy grin aimed at the priestess.

"Sure Shippou, and Rin too!"

The three laughed and played, washing each other's hair and rinsing in the chilly water.

"You guys head on back, I'm just gonna finish up here and I'll join you soon!"

Rin and Shippou climbed out to towel off and dress; their clothes still slightly damp, before racing off back to the cabin. Kagome smiled, taking a deep breath and diving under the water, propelling herself forward. Jamming her hands into her hair, she wrenched them back and forth to rid the strands of the conditioner still clinging and saturating them.

She burst through the surface with a gasp, pushing her bangs out of her face and wiping the water from her face before freezing, her widened azure eyes locked on a familiar pair of amber ones. Kagome suddenly felt as naked as she was, her hands coming up to cover her body as Sesshoumaru stared silently, his impassive mask over his face.

Sesshoumaru paused mid-step, Kagome's scent was all around the clearing by the river, but she wasn't there. He quirked an inquisitive brow, scanning the area again; the children had already returned to the cabin, and the priestess hadn't. His eyes landed on the pile of clothes beside the stream just as she broke the water, drops dispersing across the surface, water sluicing from her pinkened flesh. The Daiyoukai swallowed, hungry eyes tracing the outline of her figure as she pushed her bangs from her face and opening her eyes, catching sight of him. It seemed like time froze for the two, everything ceasing to exist but them in a silent dimension. The moisture made her skin shine, highlighting the flesh of her breasts in the afternoon sun.

Kagome covering herself brought him back to the real world, his eyes locked on hers while he turned until he couldn't keep contact anymore, walking away without a word as Kagome stared in shock after him.

The miko stared at the retreating back of the demon, her wide azure eyes blinking as she dropped her arms into the water.  
_He's walking away… The bastard just walked in on me bathing and he just turns and simply…walks away._  
"Are you serious?!" Her inflection sounded squeaky and irritated even to her. She huffed to herself,  
_Should I __**really**__ have expected differently? … It IS Sesshoumaru we're talking about._

"Lord Sesshoumaru, Lord Sesshoumaru! You're back!" Rin sang in delight; the youkai had silently up and left when she and Shippou had returned, Rin had wondered if they were going to see him again that night,  
"My lord, may I pick some flowers for you?"

Sesshoumaru turned half-lidded eyes to the young mortal, giving her a silent nod of approval to her request, eliciting a happy noise to gurgle from her before she bolted off in a whiff of… peaches?

He sat beneath the tree beside their cabin, sun dappling through the leaves to dance over his recumbent figure. Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and reclined his neck to lean against the trunk; Kagome's face and slippery wet body flashing behind his eyelids.  
_Perhaps this one has previously unrecognized masochistic tendencies… For certainly I have never __**not**__ divulged in something I wanted before; but to torture myself like this…_ At this Sesshoumaru sighed through his nose, a gentle breeze lifting his silver hair to flow softly at his side, _It seems to get harder every day to leave the miko be. This Sesshoumaru has certainly known want and lust before, but never was it unreciprocated. Rape is beneath one of my status. I am not an uncouth, disgraceful mutt._

His keen ears picked up a soft crackle and swish of grass compacting beneath human feet. He listened to the human girl's heartbeat pick up slightly, and the soft intake of breath before she spoke,  
"Lord Sesshoumaru," her voice always sounded like some sort of melody to him. A song that didn't rhyme sung only for his ears. He opened golden eyes to catch the blood rising in Kagome's face.

He waited for her to speak, watched her fidget back and forth, desperately grasping at the right words to say before he softly sighed to himself,  
"What kind of soap is it?"

"E-Excuse me?"

Sesshoumaru turned his eyes from the ground back to the girl's face,  
"This Sesshoumaru has never seen a soap that foams as the one you use to clean your hair – in fact, this one doubt's he's known of any human that bathes so often as you do."

Kagome fingered her hair gently, scratching at the back of her head with a soft laugh,  
"Yeah, in the future, it's considered uncommon for people to bathe less than one every one or two days… Oh, and it's called shampoo!"

"Hn."

"Peaches and cream! I mean, it doesn't _actually_ smell like cream, the dairy cream I mean… It's like a sweet scent, and the peaches mixed in, y'know, it's kinda nice, like… Nnnghh-"

"Kagome. This Sesshoumaru is aware of the scent. You are correct, it is… pleasant."

Kagome's azure eyes widened, a smile stretching across her plump lips as she made the realization that she'd moved up in the world of Sesshoumaru – that he'd actually referred to her by her first name! And she wasn't in any sort of mortal danger, or recovering from a traumatic event! With a small giggle she sat down beside him, pulling her knees up to hug against her chest,  
"Well! Maybe next time I'll have to wash your hair as well as Shippou's and Rin's!"

"This one accepts your offer."

Kagome's face dropped, her eyes shocked and uncomprehending and her jaw slack and slightly open. The Daiyoukai resisted the urge to smirk, he knew she'd been joking, but she'd underestimated him. Sesshoumaru turned his gaze skyward with a mental sigh,  
_Yes. I must be masochistic._


	10. Please do not think me weak

CHAPTER 10

Day turned into night as the unlikely pack continued to coincide in the pilgrimage cabin past the borders of the Western Lands. Rin and Shippou continued their childish antics, making Kagome laugh, Jaken rant, and Sesshoumaru merely turn away and tune them all out with such a flawless ease that made Kagome wonder how long he'd practiced to perfect it.

Starlight flooded the land, casting a gentle glow to lighten the shadows enough for the mortals to see; the youkai all unhindered by the lack of vivid illumination. The imp demon had reluctantly pulled together kindling, casting the inside of the cabin in dancing shadows as he lit the sticks afire.

Kagome hummed happily, pulling aside the straw mats that covered the doors and windows to let excess smoke escape from, as well as the hole carefully positioned about the cooking pit in the ceiling that ensured they would not be harmed from smoke inhalation. She turned to glance at the two children, a slightly guilty look in her eyes when she noticed Rin's bruising on her face, and the reminiscences of cuts and yellowed bruises on Shippou.

Keen golden eyes watched her flit to and fro, her scantily dressed body - (in his opinion) flaunted shamelessly to them (not that he was complaining) - spun and bent, straightening and stretched while the miko worked, unaware of his gaze while the hem of her 'skirt' danced dangerously high on her creamy thighs.

"Shippou, Rin! I have a surprise for you two! I brought back something I knew that you guys would especially enjoy," Kagome smile, turning to glance over her shoulder at the children, her eyes narrowly missing the Daiyoukai's that flit off to the side.

Rin's brown eyes sparkled with excitement, ever since Kagome had been with her she'd been spoiled such as she'd never previously known. First Sesshoumaru had allowed the priestess to join them, then all of the great things Kagome had given her; then her Lord had even allowed Shippou to join their crew as well… Life. Was. Good.  
"You do?" Her tone completely gave away the elated state of her mind.

Shippou grinned broadly,  
"Kagome **always** brings back the **best** stuff from her time."

Questioningly, Rin paused, turned her confused expression to Shippou, then Kagome, and back to the fox kit once more,  
"Shippou, what do you mean?"

Shippou's teal eyes widened noticeably, his gaze flicking between the two women; suddenly afraid that he'd spilled Kagome's most important secret. Jaken's disbelief apparent along with his sputtering in the background.

The miko smiled softly, taking a few steps forward to kneel in front of Rin,  
"No, sweetheart… I haven't been completely honest with you because I thought I had to keep it a secret… And then when the secret was found out, I completely forgot that you didn't know… So, as it happens, I'm from the future – Around 500 years actually."

Rin blinked, looking to the ground for a moment, her index finger to a petal-soft lower lip as her brown eyes calculated her reaction,  
"Oh… Okay," she smiled, just like that accepting it was just one of life's little surprised.

Kagome paused,  
_Really?... Sometimes how easily she accepts things worries me a bit_, her thoughts didn't stop the grin blooming on her lips as she dragged the younger girl into a rough embrace,  
"You're so cute, Rin!"

"THE MORTAL SPOUTS LIES, M'LORD!" Jaken's voice pierced the ears of all in attendance. Shippou and Kagome cringed, not yet used to the loud indignant tone the imp used when surprised. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes sharply at Jaken earning the group some well-deserved silence as the imp shuddered in fear, slowly turning his face to the fire as he pondered over his seemingly impending doom from the expression he'd received from his beloved lord.

Kagome abruptly stood, glancing over to Shippou, Jaken and Sesshoumaru; her expression gleeful as she announced,  
"I brought the ingredients for s'mores!"

Her excitement was met with stark silence, four pairs of eyes blinking back at her in the gleam of the fire light. She paused awkwardly, her eyes flicking between them all,  
"You know? Marshmallows? Graham crackers and chocolate?"

More silence. It wasn't hard for Kagome to imagine a tumbleweed flowing softly in the background. She almost drug a palm down her face when she remembered that she was in the **feudal** era, it was no surprise they had no clue what she was talking about. For the almost-twenty year old, she knew she could sometimes be a little… boneheaded.

"Marsh…amall…ohs?" Shippou tried the word on his tongue, earning a soft smile from the priestess as she skirted around them to her bag, wincing slightly at the pain that shot through her shoulder when she wasn't cautious enough about her movements.

The raven haired girl dug around the green bag she'd brought back with her, seated right beside the bigger yellow one, grabbing a blue shiney box with amazing pictures on it that looked amazingly real (of a foreign square-thing none of the rest had seen before), another shiney rectangle with some sort of crinkly covering, and a transparent bag with mysterious white cylinders in it.

Rin scooted over beside Kagome, her brown doe eyes inquisitive as she picked up the marshmallows, her expression brightening in glee,  
"Look M'lord! They are squishy!"

Shippou was beside her in a second, sniffing at the bag,  
"And they smell so yummy…"

Sesshoumaru had seemingly gotten over his fear of the priestess attempting to hurt his ward, no longer feeling the need to sniff everything she let them have to check for poisons or hidden weapons. The shiro inu could plainly see the undisguised love that shone in her eyes when she smiled at them.

"What are those queer foreign objects?" Jaken opted to use a lower, more contemplative voice this time.

"They are food!"

The imp youkai's eyes narrowed suspiciously,  
"Are you lying to me? They do not look edible at all!"

Sesshoumaru watched Kagome's lips quirk into a half-grin as she stood, making her way towards the door,  
"No, silly; they're just in packaging, that's all. Inside the plastic is the edible stuff," she chuckled.

"Where are you going." As always, it was not a question. The Daiyoukai's voice stopped her dead in her tracks, as if his tone alone held some power over her;  
_Hell,_ she thought, _Maybe it does… It would make things make a lot more sense…_

"I'm going to get some roasting sticks," she shot over her shoulder, turning midnight eyes to look at him. The sheen of his armour glared in the dancing firelight, his amber eyes illuminated like bright stars as he blinked slowly. Kagome couldn't help the impulse to run her gaze over his body, her stomach tightening in a foreign need. Sesshoumaru's very existence just screamed male… power… _alpha_ to her_.  
_She held back a gulp as she remembered the weight of him over her, his fangs nipping at her lips, his contained youki brushing against her flesh, filling the cave they'd resided with a soft threat of controlled danger.

The priestess watched the hints of ropes of muscles cord as the Daiyoukai stood, silently moving to follow her. Kagome blinked, slightly stunned but recovered quickly enough; she turned on heel with a soft smirk,  
_Ov-er pro-tec-tive…_ She mentally sang to herself, rolling her eyes ever so slightly.

The miko's taciturn protector shadowed her as they moved through the dark, her footsteps noticeably more audible than his. Pointed ears perked as her soft voice floated back to him, her words seemingly guarded,  
"Do you like spending time with everyone together?"

Sesshoumaru quirked a brow – not that Kagome would see in the dusky light provided merely by the night sky. Kagome spun to face him, her midnight eyes shining at him from under her inky halo; the youkai silently admired the way mistress night coloured the miko's milky skin in shades of purple and blue.

_-FLASHBACK- A young Sesshoumaru stood ramrod straight-backed, his chin lowered to his chest as his little hands fisted the light blue material of his haori, hidden in long flowing sleeves. His mother turned golden eyes towards him, her expression schooled to look over-confident and smug, a slight smirk curving supple lips as she regarded her son,  
"You aren't going to stand up for yourself?"_

_Sesshoumaru bit the inside of his cheek, forcing himself to try and think of the right words to say to his mother. Even with an averted gaze, he saw her smile extend almost cruelly in his peripheral vision,  
"Perhaps you think what those boys said about you was true… Is that the case, my little one? Do you think so lowly of yourself?"_

_The boy pressed his lips in a thin line to prevent himself from pouting, mother despised when he pouted. A habit he'd learned long ago to stop; it seemed to him the only time his parents truly paid attention to him was when they wanted to teach him a lesson, or scold him. _

"_Do you not want to spend time with others? Would you not be lonely? Are you so brazen that you think you can seclude yourself?"_

_Sesshoumaru had made it his personal mission to train himself to become a great Daiyoukai like his father; calm, cool and collected like his mother, and try not to draw negative attention from them. No, instead, his mission was to be so perfect that they wouldn't be able to help but pay him praise, praise he thought he had long-since deserved. Then there were times like these that he had to bite his tongue, the sharp pain reminding him to keep his and think of his words, not merely react,  
"No mother, I merely do not think I need to prove myself to those lower than I."_

_Sesshoumaru turned away from her, walking away as if it didn't hurt what those boys had said, as if he could withstand their insults a million times over. He turned away so he wouldn't have to see the cruel smirk widen to expose the tips of her perfect fangs._

'_Yes mother,' Sesshoumaru thought, 'Be proud of your perfect boy.' Though, even in his head he couldn't pretend he sounded happy. –END-_

"Why?"

Kagome merely continued to give him her soft smile as she flicked her gaze to the side, reaching out to snap what looked to be a perfect roasting stick – once it was sharpened of course,  
"Because, I …" The priestess paused, seeming to suddenly study the stick she'd broken off of the rest of the branch,  
"I really love spending time … With you, and everyone else, all together. It feels homey, like being with family."

The Daiyoukai averted his gaze from the young lady, his youkai stalking along the bars of the mental cage of his body, emitting soft thoughts of possession and protection.  
"It does not feel anything like home to this one."

Kagome almost startled; she thought with the length of the silence that ensued after her comment that he would choose not to respond to her. His response made her…sad. Her gaze tracked up to his face to find him once again looking directly at her.

A distinct heat of arousal flooded her chest, moving south; goosebumps appearing over her flesh as the miko fought not to shudder delightedly under that hot gaze. Abruptly she turned, reaching for another branch with slightly jerking movements while Sesshoumaru continued to – as always – study her. Her damned memory decided once again to heat her body further with thoughts of his form over hers, grinding her hips against his; his hot tongue searching every available space in her mouth. She coughed sharply, attempting to clear her mind of the not-unwanted thoughts and images.

Confusion had Sesshoumaru narrowing his eyes at the scent of her sadness when he spoke. Her blue eyes had searched his for but a moment before she turned away, her arousal soon covering the scent of her recent displeasure,  
"That is not a bad thing."

The demon found himself rather surprised that he'd spoken, the words sooner out of his mouth than he had time to consider them. Abnormal for him, but he found that he did not want the priestess to misunderstand his words,  
"Home for this one was not what it is considered to be for most; being with this Sesshoumaru's pack is, indeed, more enjoyable than being back in the domain or with this one's parents… Even with Jaken's presence."

The Daiyoukai watched as the miko once again turned slightly widened eyes onto his form, mentally admitting – if only to himself – that he did enjoy the way she looked at him, the clear spike in her arousal every time she realized she'd gotten lost in her mind while she stared.  
_This is not like me; I do not need to prove myself to the mortal in front of me… Why should it matter to this Sesshoumaru how she intends to understand my words? When did it start to matter is but another question that she has left me with… _

Though as the demon mental feuded with himself, it was undeniable the feeling of relief that soothed him when she comprehended his words. She let out an unexpected laugh at the comment about Jaken, finding her smile slowly turning sullen as she once more ceased looking for sticks to turn and face him, seemingly looking to speak more on the matter seeing as he'd elaborated,  
"What was – if you don't mind me asking that is, what was home like for you? I remember you saying you were raised more by tutors than your parents since they were busy, important people… But what was it really like?"

_Lonely. _The thought abruptly forced its way into his head, instances of times that he'd wished his family was normal, that his father spoke to him not only to better prepare him to become a proper Daiyoukai, that his mother – the uncaring, cruel bitch that she happened to be – would have embraced his young form and whisper comforting words to soothe his injured feelings. Feelings the inu youkai had long since deemed forgotten, pushed into the furthest-most outer reaches of his consciousness, now fought to the forefront.

Sesshoumaru had been silent no more than ten seconds when he caught a slight change in her face; her lips relaxing from their small sullen smile to pull into a frown, her bright eyes burned, locked onto his. He absently wondered what demons she'd seen flash through his eyes for her to lose her smile; knowing that not once during their exchange had his perfect mask failed him.

Kagome found an odd sadness filled her as she'd waited expectantly for an answer, watching the way her words affected him. As soon as Kagome had begun her travels with him, dating back to Sesshoumaru returning her to the forest of InuYasha as a favor for Rin, she'd slowly started to comprehend his moods. He was not as guarded as he thought he was, not for anyone who really wanted to know anyway. That perfectly practiced blank expression faltered in the slightest of ways; a narrowing of eyes here, the tensing of a jaw muscle there, little ticks that gave away the comprehension of the demon. But more than that, it was his eyes that gave him away completely; the flash of anger, sidelong stares of annoyance, and the softening of resignation.

She recognized them all, knew what he was feeling just by looking into his eyes, the strain around them, and the tell-tale signs the rest of his face gave away.

Hesitantly, the miko took a couple shaky steps forward to stand directly in front of the youkai, slowly lifting her arms up and slightly out before pausing. Kagome respected the youkai enough to give him his space, since he'd made quite clear that she risked loosing his inner youkai when she made contact with him; she knew how his demon felt about her,  
_But… How does he feel about me?_ She found herself wondering as she pushed past her hesitation and embraced him, laying her cheek on his slightly cool plated armour. She couldn't help the flash of memory behind her eyelids, showing her his bright lustful eyes burning into hers as he swiped his tongue over an accidental scratch from one of InuYasha's claws when he'd unclothed her. She saw the image of his sliding up her body to place an almost chaste kiss on her lips; the taste of her blood coating his tongue as he explored her mouth… The feel of his hips.

The Daiyoukai waited, his arm hanging limply, reluctant to move from his side; unable to embrace her, yet incapable of pushing her away. He found his youkai seemed to be sated by her touch and the clear scent of her arousal wafting through the air, so he merely looked at the crown of her head,  
"Miko?"

"I'm sorry that I asked."

Kagome's response was immediate, though she had yet to release his frame from her frail arms,  
"I did not say anything," he spoke softly, as if he did not want to frighten her.

"You do not need to if you don't want," came her reply, slightly muffled as she moved to drop her arms and step back; Sesshoumaru reluctantly admitted to himself that he didn't want her to but made no move to keep her near.

The priestess had given him an out, turning away once more to break a third stick from the branches around them. He looked upward to the moon displaying half of its luminous fullness to the world, coming back to himself only as he discovered he was speaking,  
"It is not for you to worry about; it was a long time ago and there is nothing anyone could do that could change it."

Kagome nodded sullenly, grabbing a fourth roasting stick from the ground, pushing it into the clasp of her left hand with the others to free her right to grab one more.  
Sesshoumaru traced the line of her body as she bent to retrieve her final thin branch, his blood boiling softly in his veins, causing all of his nerve endings to tingle.

What was it about the mortal that set his youkai blood afire? Her scent was so amazingly tantalizing to him that he'd even found himself drawing deeper breaths when she was around,  
"I sometimes wondered if they cared."

His short response cut through the air, Kagome turning questioning blue eyes towards him,  
"My mother and father," he continued, as if he needed to clarify who he spoke of,  
"I sometimes wondered if they cared or merely did the best they knew how to raise me to become strong. After all, a weak link would not survive in the family of Daiyoukai."

Kagome's gave softened as she took a hesitant step towards him, her lips tugging into a gentle smile,  
"I'm sure they did, and do now. Even from the next world, I'm sure your great father is looking upon you and your brother with a proud smile."

Sesshoumaru's lightning eyes darkened, his pupils slitting in the spike of his anger,  
"I somehow doubt that."

Another sad smile flashed over the miko's red plump lips,  
"No… I don't. I know he is. We all make mistakes, and we all learn from them."

Sesshoumaru didn't respond, merely took in her beautiful features as the moon kissed her skin and the shadows danced over her face, darker shadows dancing behind her veiled gaze. He turned, preparing to head back towards the cabin only to hesitate when he heard her soft voice,  
"Sesshoumaru? … Will you have s'mores with us?"

The Daiyoukai waited for a second before he continued to move forward, a smiling Kagome trailing happily after him,  
"Perhaps."

_He didn't say no! That's a yes in my mind!_ Her sing-song tone filled her mind as she chuckled.

"KIRARA! GO!" Sango's voice pierced the air, twisting her body and throwing all of her weight through her Hiraikotsu, dodging one of the two giant worm youkai that flopped and twisted, sharp teeth gnashing in large circular mouths.

Kirara gave a resounding yowl, leaping past her through the air; blazing fire burning in the wake of her mid-air steps. The feline youkai dashed forward, avoiding the feeble attacks from the giant worms, the ground shuddering under their missed advances. She arched, turning in midair to catch a clawed paw on one of the youkai, dragging herself in to bite.

An inhuman noise filled the air as blood gushed over her muzzle, momentarily clogging her nostrils as she tore, ripping back and forth to do as much damage as she could with her saber teeth.

Kirara's ears perked as she heard the familiar sound of the Hiraikotsu, tearing through the air. She let go of her prey, bounding to the side to avoid her owners weapon as it came crashing through the first worm, completing a semi-circle and heading back towards the taijiya.

"Stand back, Sango, Kirara; I'm going to unleash my _Wind Tunnel!_" Miroku's voice flowed through the clearing to be followed by the sound of rushing air. Kirara took to higher air, emitting a growl of acknowledgement as the worms both began shifting towards the humans, struggling to gain ground.

Miroku narrowed his eyes, his left hand gripping his right wrist tightened painfully as he forced himself to keep his hand open. His prayer beads whipped around in the inundating winds, occasionally striking across his knuckles, the small sharp pains only helping with his concentration.

Kirara landing behind Miroku, standing next to Sango who wrapped an arm around her neck lovingly. She was purring in satisfaction as her red eyes devouring the scene of the houshi dragging both youkai reluctantly into the void.

As suddenly as it appeared, the torrential winds died as the monk closed his hand, wrapping it in the blessed beads. He heaved air into his lungs, his right hand fisted tight over the anomaly in his palm, a scowl set on his face. Miroku could feel cool pinpricks across his neck, chilling in the breeze; his glands releasing sweat in the exertion of using his wind tunnel. He tried not to let on, but each and every time he used his cursed hand, it became harder and harder on his body, each time more difficult to control.

"The sudden influx of demons raises questions," Sango spoke from behind him, her voice drawing closer. Miroku schooled his features and forced his back to straighten, taking air into his lungs and holding it to try to slow his racing heart.

"I agree with you…" He spoke softly, looking around, "I wonder if it happened with the disappearance of Naraku… Maybe they're getting cocky now that the 'top dog' isn't around to take notice of them…"

Sango eyed the houshi with a critical eye; his strain was marked around his eyes, a slight sheen of sweat covering his skin, making his flesh pallid. She worried for him; he was trying so hard to hide his weakness after battle that Sango didn't have the heart to ask him if her suspicions were true. That being said, she would never allow him to battle alone or separate from her, knowing what may be happening.

"C'mon," she spoke gently, reaching forward to give his hand a little tug and a soft smile, "Let's be on our way, we will need to make camp soon and night is falling."

Miroku nodded, his mind wandering back to times when the Inutachi had been all together, Kagome and InuYasha constantly bickering, Shippou making snide remarks only to get struck by the hanyou's fist and cry, Kagome forcing InuYasha to the ground with the beads of subjugation. Alas, that was long ago, a couple months now since they'd seen any of the three.

He could almost hear InuYasha and Kagome's angry tones, feel the earth shudder under her spell, hear an angry proclamation of returning home. It was funny, but even Miroku knew more than half of those times, she wouldn't have left in InuYasha had followed. Unfortunately he'd chosen to follow the dead priestess, though their fates were never meant to be.

Kagome had taught the children how to make s'mores, relishing in their excitement at the treat. Jaken had been disagreeable at first; reluctant to try it until (much to Sesshoumaru's secret amusement) she shoved it into his open beak mid-speech. Since then he'd been making his own, claiming it wasn't because of her.

Upon returning, Kagome had changed into a pair of PJ pants and a tank, relieved she no longer had to watch the way she was sitting, not too concern about being considered 'lady-like' as she cooked her marshmallows, laughing with the children.

She'd offered the demon lord a s'more, but at the time he'd refused so Kagome hadn't pushed it. Now, the children were asleep, once more curled on top of Sesshoumaru's soft fur length covered by the blanket Kagome had given Rin way back when; and Jaken braced himself in a corner, his head drooped over his chest, just upon the cusp of unconsciousness.

Kagome glanced up, meeting the demon lords gaze across the fire; his golden eyes gleamed brightly, shadows flickered across his face, the striations on his cheeks looking almost black in the firelight. Once again she pictured those eyes staring up her body and supressed a shiver, a poem she learned in her Writing class suddenly popped into her head, the words spilling over her lips before she thought too hard on them,  
"Tyger, Tyger, burning bright, in the forests of the night. What immortal hand or eye, could frame thy fearful symmetry."

Sesshoumaru blinked, her gaze was so focused on him, her speech so foreign for her that it caught him off guard,  
"I was unaware you practiced poetry..."

"It's not mine, unfortunately," she spoke softly, "a gentleman by the name of William Blake wrote it… well, will write it in about 150-200 years."

Kagome speared another two marshmallow, taking her eyes off of the youkai as she spoke,  
"Seeing you just then reminded me of the poem."

"Hn."

They sat in silence for half a minute, both eyes trained on the slowly roasting treat as it bubbled and browned slightly. Kagome drew the stick back, turning it as she examined them before getting to her feet, moving around the fire to sit closer to the Daiyoukai,  
"Here!"

She lowered the stick towards him, offering another of the treats he'd watched them eat all night,  
"Please have one, at least to try," she smiled, still expectantly holding the marshmallows towards him. Only half reluctantly, the Daiyoukai accepted the white squishy treat; feeling it collapse slightly beneath his thumb and index as he pulled the gooey puff off of the stick. Kagome drew the roasting spear back, pulling the second one off and popping the roasted marshmallow into her mouth, delighting in the warm, sugary taste.

Sesshoumaru watched her blankly before flicking his eyes back to the one in his hand, slowly raising it to his mouth and sinking his teeth in. He could feel the treat melting in his mouth, a sweet taste like no other flowing over his tongue. He found that it wasn't something you could actually chew, and swallowed before looking to the other half in his hand, realizing the sticky substance now glazed his fingers as he attempted to hold onto it. He popped the other half into his mouth and swallowed, not much liking the treat, it was just too… sweet for his tastes.

Kagome watched intently, a slight smirk on her face as she examined him now glaring at the sticky residue, as if that alone could make it disappear. An idea struck her, making her flush slightly; she wondered if she were brazen enough to do it.

The Daiyoukai glanced up as he heard the shifting of material, Kagome's body moving just slightly towards him. Silently he watched her glance at his face with an almost… uncertain expression? Hesitant? He caught something flash brightly behind her eyes before she reached out to take his hand, drawing it towards her.

His golden eyes widened perceptibly as she separated his index from the rest and inserted it into her mouth without a second thought… her very hot, very wet mouth. She flicked midnight eyes up to his before swiping her tongue over the pad of his finger. His blood lit aflame.

Kagome fought the shiver working its way up her spine. Her hand trembled gently as she lifted his to her mouth, her eyes trailed towards his face, catching a completely unguarded look of sheer surprise coming from Sesshoumaru. Obviously, this had not been what he was expecting for him to lapse that much in his control over his features. The taste of marshmallow once again layered her tongue; beneath it was Sesshoumaru's own unique taste, to her seemingly just as sweet.

She felt him shudder softly, watched him blink; going from Lord of the West to Daiyoukai before her eyes. Ruby and sapphire eyes locked onto her as she removed his finger from her lips, locking gazes while she adjusted the angle of his hand and took his thumb into her mouth.

Kagome could help the burning that went straight to her groin as she watched his lips slide into an almost cocky grin, his dark eyes examining her for a second longer before she found herself on her back with her head cradled in his hand, his body once more over her,  
"Why miko, this one is extremely pleased… Ever more than the last time, you come to us on your own… Perhaps you have finally accepted us?"

"Accepted you?" she replied gently, her azure eyes still locked on the face that loomed over hers. Since her return home – no, since it first happened in the cavern, she had not been able to forget about the kiss from the youkai, yet Sesshoumaru gave her no further hints to get any insight on his feelings. Kagome had expected this would happen,  
_Come on, you wanted this right? Stop shivering, make a move… If it's his demon, you know there's no chance of rejection…_

But, what about how _**he**__ feels?_

You started this… You knew the outcome if you were to pull that stunt.

I did… But now I think I'm beginning to regret it…

"Yes Miko, accept that you're to be ours, our mate, our alpha female… Second in our pack only to us…"

Kagome swallowed, noticing the way his eyes locked onto her throat as she did. She felt him move his hand to caress the spot of her pulse jumping in her jugular. The priestess wanted to lean into that touch, wanted to feel him lick there again, nip… bite. A little pain with pleasure was what she expected from him, what she wanted,  
"Only you want me though… Not him…"

The youkai cocked his head, a rope of silver hair falling over his shoulder to rest on hers, blinking large red eyes as he spoke,  
"Clearly you do not know…"

It was Kagome's turn to blink, her expression blank,  
"Know what?"

The youkai smiled deviously, leaning to brush his nose against hers, his breath whispering over her lips,  
"I shall leave it to you to find out," with that he pressed his lips over hers, shoving his tongue into her mouth; he swallowed her gasp, ministrating her mouth with his tongue until she responded to his kiss, her eyes closing.

Kagome felt her blood pounding through her veins, excitement and arousal joined adrenaline as the demon took her mouth, nipping at her lower lip almost hard enough to draw blood. She felt delightedly sharp fangs pressing against her sensitive skin, the threat of penetration turning her on more.

The youkai opening his red eyes, smiled through the kiss, and relinquished control. Sesshoumaru felt himself pushed back into the forefront of his essence, blinking to find himself tongue-deep and hovering over Kagome.

_Pull back._ He spoke to himself in his mind, but for some reason, his body didn't obey right away. Sesshoumaru found himself deepening the kiss first, pushing his clawed fingers into her inky hair and closing his eyes, trying to mentally trick himself into thinking that this was his choice. Kagome felt the shift but thought nothing of it until he slowly broke the kiss, opening her dark eyes to find his amber ones gleaming, taking up most of the expanse of her vision.

He watched as her eyes widened, then her skin flushed, absently wondering what thoughts were going through her head. She suddenly looked a little pained, and more or less guilty. He could smell her confusion litering the air, her guilt and a touch of sadness that caused him to draw back from her, hovering for a second before he averted his eyes and sat back against the wall, suddenly conscious of the sounds of sleeping beings and the crackle of the fire,  
"… My apologies… Though you were previously warned," he stated softly, watching Kagome pull herself into a seated position in his peripheral vision.

"I'm sorry," she spoke softly, easily gaining his attention once more, her eyes downcast as she spoke,  
"I… I um… I guess I was kinda looking… for that… y'know, reaction…"

Sesshoumaru stared in silent amazement at the miko, now suddenly aware she wasn't completely innocent and optimistic as he'd once believed. He was almost tempted to smirk.

"I didn't um… I didn't consider how you'd feel…"

The fire crackled in the background, making the silence a lot less awkward than it would have been as they sat, Kagome staring towards a window, and he at her.

"… How **do** you feel?"

_Protective. Lustful. Jealous… Jealous? This Sesshoumaru does not concede to jealousy,_ he growled mentally, scolding himself for ever **thinking** such nonsense. So used to being silent, the Lord did not realize the miko still awaited an answer; her conscience growing heavier and guiltier, insecurity raising its ugly head, tearing at her insides.  
_Yet… How does this one feel? He knows how the other feels, so is it possible that these feelings are not his own? This Sesshoumaru is not certain… But this one knows he did not want to stop… not this, nor the last time… To to keep her in my sight; to protect her from harm…What does this Sesshoumaru need to do? This one does not want her to view him as weak… Do these feelings make this me weak? They cause a chink in my armour that an enemy could exploit…_

Kagome stood causing Sesshoumaru to once again focus on her, her raven bangs lowered to hide her eyes, not that it stopped the scent of salt from filtering through the air. She turned away from him, trying to train her voice not to tremble as she spoke,  
"Just… Ignore me. Forget I even asked. I'm going to go for a walk. I won't go far, okay?"

She didn't wait for a reply, merely forced one foot in front of the other as she walked from the cabin, down the two front steps, and trailed off towards the stream; the night calls of cicadas and bullfrogs singing in her ears.

Sesshoumaru gave pause, despite the obvious raging of his beast inside of him, his eyes turning an off-red colour as he tried to calm himself. Her sadness was apparent, but why? He had not given her an answer, he had yet to deduce one before she had imagined her own conclusion.

The youkai lifted his hand forward, staring into his palm; he could still feel the soft strands parting around his fingers, a gentle tingle in his lips from increased blood flow. He scoffed softly, fisting his hand and climbed to his feet,  
_This Sesshoumaru will let no one decide his affections…_

Kagome sat at the water's edge, letting the sounds of nature soothe her while she collected and sorted her thoughts,  
_I'm cursed… I __**must**__ be cursed… There's no other reason I would fall for two brothers, neither or which would ever return my love… But that's okay right? I thought it was fine… BECAUSE Sesshoumaru would not return my affection… He was safe… It was okay to like him and brace myself for the expected rejection…_

She scrubbed at her eyes with one hand, the other propped her body up as she curled her legs to her chest,  
_I thought it was enough… I thought it would be okay to love but live as friends… I thought that as long as I love, even if it's one-sided, it gave me purpose… So why does it hurt so damn much?!_

A hiccough caught her breath in her throat as she laid her face on her arm draped over her knees. She held her breath for a moment before exhaling softly.

Sesshoumaru stalked inaudibly behind her, stopped when he was about two meters away to stare at the back of the girl before him. He saw her shoulders tremble every now and then, her body curled around her heart as if to protect it. She reeked of sadness, confusion, and tears; scents that were beautiful merely because they came from her; that from anyone else would have made him inwardly cringe and scowl.

"I have never cared what someone thought of me before… At least, not for a long time," his voice broke her out of her reverie, a slight fear speeding her heart as she thought,  
_Here we go, rejection time… Steel yourself, Kagome. You knew this was coming. Take it like a champ, smile, lift your chin and continue life like it doesn't hurt._

"But with you, it is different…" Kagome's heart palpated, her blue eyes seeking his warm gaze; the breeze chilling the tear tracks on her cheeks though she was too distracted to notice,  
"With you I get nothing but questions… Constantly wondering if not of you, than of why I feel certain things I thought I'd long forgotten."

He came to sit beside her, though he looked away while he spoke, almost as if he was speaking as he thought instead of calculating all of his words so carefully like he always did,  
"If you are away, this one wonders where you are, what you're doing, whether…" finally he turned his gaze to her, just to lift a finger to wipe the moisture from her face,  
"Whether you're crying, or smiling like always in that frivolous almost reckless, blithe way…"

Kagome blushed, her tears drying up as she was rather shocked into silence. Sesshoumaru normally did not speak much, and that was okay for her; when he did speak, it was either to scold, comment or question – any of which giving her more insight to the person he was. It was like he never spoke unnecessarily.

"And when you're here where I can see you, you make me question myself… Why I think certain things, or feel certain ways…" Sesshoumaru looked away again, looking skyward, "You make me wonder if I'm weak."

"There are… a lot of things you could be, Sesshoumaru… Weak; weak is not one of them… Even if you tried," Kagome replied dryly.

"Is it not a weakness to be distracted? To lose control of yourself - in more ways than one? Is it not weak to care? To want? Strength is derived from control, concentration, and the ability to distance yourself; in which I have failed all three."

Kagome turned to stare at the youkai beside her, his amber eyes contemplative as he looked to the stars; she absently wondered if he was speaking to her, or merely to himself? Regardless, he'd spoken aloud, which granted her permission to respond,  
"In some ways it is, but in others it is the opposite… It is strength to have the ability to care, to have something to protect. To empathize is to have compassion, that once more is not a weakness; it allows insight into the feelings of others, and as such, knowledge on how they will act… One does not need to be distant to be strong… And to lose control of yourself? Losing control is merely proof you are alive… Losing control is a necessity that keeps us sane. As long as it is not at the wrong times - it is not considered a weakness, but the will to remain who you are and not get pulled under by the riptide… No one is perfect… There is no such thing as complete control…"

_To have something to protect… Funny that theme continually arises. First father, then InuYasha, and now her, Kagome…_ Sesshoumaru turned contemplative eyes towards her, his blood heating at the soft smile she spared for him, her bright eyes reflecting the moon as well as the shimmering waters.

Instantly he knew, recognized his feelings as his own and not his youkai's; though the feelings they shared were the same. He wanted to hold her, protect her with all of his being; to kiss and treasure her. He wanted her to be his, only his and no one else's. The thought of sharing brought a growl to the cusp of forming, forcing him to swallow it as it bubbled up his throat.

Kagome watched the emotions normally so carefully hidden flicker across his face; surprise… tenderness… lust… and an angered or pained expression? She watched curiously as he seemed to have come to a conclusion; raising those captivating eyes to hers once more, his lips parting slightly as he inhaled a small breath. Kagome's eyes flickered to his hand and back to his face as he raised it slowly, his palm brushing gently against her cheek.

She felt her blood rise once more; as always, she seemed permanently flushed in front of him – in a state of embarrassment or arousal when faced with this youkai. The heat radiated from his hand into her cheek, tickling her softly; her ears straining to hear the next words he spoke, so softly she thought at first she could've been mistaken,  
"Please don't think me weak…"

And with that Sesshoumaru's hand pushed further into her hair to grasp the back of her neck, pulling her toward him as he leaned down and captured her lips.


	11. Malicious Intent

Chapter 11

Kagome let herself be pulled forward, so entranced in his voice, in the slide of his hand as he pushed it gently along her cheek, that when she found herself being drawn towards him, resisting was the last thing on her mind. The smell of pine, frost, and ionized air was surrounding her, his heady scent clouding her consciousness.

Shock came first. With all of the little intimacies that had taken place between the Lord of the West and the priestess, it was always his youkai that had gotten things started; be it licking her neck, the first soft brush of a kiss, cleaning her wound which lead to… more. But this, this was the first interest that Sesshoumaru himself had shown in her that hadn't progressed from something beyond his youkai's actions.

Kagome's blue eyes widened as his lips meshed against hers, feeling a soft tug on her bottom lip as he drew it slightly into his mouth, nipping with sharp fangs. The expanse of her vision was centered on the duel magenta brush strokes that layered his eyelids, rimmed with thick long eyelashes that casted dark shadows onto his cheeks.

Sesshoumaru shut his mind down, silencing the inner battle between his wants and his former – now very confused- ethics; the insecurities that slowly rose like the tide coming in whenever he was around her. All the questions the mortal brought with her, he tuned them all out; allowing himself to bask in the moment, enjoying the hot feel of her lips against his.

Somewhere between the first second and the fifth (though, of course, it felt so much longer), after a slew of other emotions, acceptance found Kagome, relaxing her into the kiss and provoking her to respond. She found herself tentatively swiping her tongue along his upper lip, the blood rushing to her face; half in embarrassment, the other half? Lust. The miko allowed her eyes to finally slide shut, but despite obstructing him from her sight, the scent of him around her had her seeing his form behind her eyelids. She allowed one of her hands to travel through his silken hair, resting at the back of his skull while slightly urging him with soft tugs.

_Silly Sesshoumaru, after all you know of me you still think me capable of viewing you as weak? I think you are the strongest person I know… And while I still don't agree with everything that happened between us in the past – oh, like, the several times you attempted to kill me – I think I'm finally beginning to understand where your harsh tendencies stem from._

She felt him take control of the kiss, shoving his tongue deep into her mouth; the spicy taste that was purely him caused her to moan greedily and forget how to think. Oh how long had she wanted this? From the first time she'd felt that capable muscle slide down her neck beside the Bone Eaters well? Or was it stemmed from the first time she'd dreamt of having his lips on hers, dreamt of that strong body hovering over her.

Kagome allowed herself to be pushed back gently against the grass-softened ground, the hand disappearing from her head as she felt more than saw his form lean over her. His body warmth and metaphysical weight spurring on her lust as she grappled his shoulder with her free hand, wrapping it into the silk of his haori, pulling him closer to her. She wanted, no needed, to feel that delicious heaviness settling over her body, covering her completely; moaning at the anticipation.

Sesshoumaru swallowed the noise, his blood lit aflame to the mewling sounds she created deep in her throat, noises meant just for him… Caused be him.

_Mine._

For once, the Daiyoukai agreed with the beast inside of him. He'd never hungered for anything like he hungered for this female mortal. Her taste flooded his tongue, egging him on; he moved to drag his hand along the curvature of her hips; pulling away from her lips long enough to connect their eyes. Her hazy glazed over eyes had him growling possessively. He wanted to be able to feel her warmth, his armour suddenly becoming an object that merely offended his person, stopped him from achieving his goal. Unacceptable.

_What does… what does this mean for us?_ Kagome's lust-hazed mind began throwing her doubts around. She almost shook her head to dislodge them, but held back, suddenly coming back to herself. What **did** it mean for them?

She found herself vaguely wondering about the situation, strange thoughts flitting to and fro in her lust-filled head as she watched him deftly untie his obi, the silken material pooling in his lap before he unhooked his armour, pulling the boiled leather plates from his body. Only once did he ever break eye contact with her during his task and that was to lift his armour over his head; those twin golden suns that were burning her up inside were soon back on her, scalding her body with their heat.

Kagome came to an abrupt realization that his sclera's were tinting red as he laid his body back against hers, finally granting her wish to feel his weight settled on her. She could clearly feel his erection pressing against her waist, the cotton of her PJ pants and the silk of his hakama did very little to disguise his arousal.  
_Is this it? After all of the time I waited for InuYasha… After such an abrupt change in my life… Is this how I'll become a… A woman?_

The thought made her shiver; often she'd thought about it, dreamed of having sex with the hanyou on some many numerous occasions that she couldn't even count them all; but now, here… With Sesshoumaru.

This is what she wanted, right? What she craved? Dreaming of intercourse and having intercourse were two distinctly different scenarios.

"Miko… Kagome… Is this what you really want?" If was as if he'd read her mind, his half-lidded crimson and golden eyes searched hers for the truth, the scent of their arousal was over-powering the smell of her doubt, but he knew it was there. She shivered again, though his duel-toned voice was not the cause, fear at all was not the origin, but such… Want. Such pure, unbridled need coursed through her blood at the sound of his voice that she couldn't find her own. She could merely nod in agreement and watch the glint of acknowledgement flash behind his eyes, quickly darkening to lust and possession. Yet another shiver.

Sesshoumaru nudged his nose softly against her cheek, relishing in the creamy smoothness of her skin before drawing back onto his knees and surveying the captivating sight before him.

Kagome lay on her back, her raven hair spread along the ground beneath her, splaying out like shadows across the grass. Mistress night had turned his female's eyes from their azure blue to a murky grey; her half-lidded gaze laid her arousal so painfully bare to him, Sesshoumaru felt his heart thump. The cheek he'd just pushed his nose against - as well as the other - were both flushed a pretty pink, hidden to the human eye, but not the eyes of the youkai. She was wearing – what did she call it? A camisole? - Some flimsy piece of black material that clung in **all** the right places, two straps of lace arcing over her shoulders to hold the cloth up.

She was wearing red cotton pants, more finely crafted than he'd seen in their era, with a white drawstring laying untied at her waist; the two strings haphazardly splayed her legs. Sesshoumaru laid his hand on her chest, just below her collarbone on the flat expanse where her rib cage met, between her breasts. He heard and felt her breath hike sharply, felt a soft resistance; her body pushing against his hand, urging him to continue.

Kagome's skin felt so warm beneath his, his hand stilled, currently still splayed over her chest. He'd never thought himself to be overtly large before, feeling for a youkai his body was merely of average size; but to see his hand taking up so much of her small chest, another feeling rose to run alongside his lust.

He had to protect this fragile mortal. She was so small, so frail beneath his hand that he felt he would break her. Sesshoumaru realized he was almost afraid to move his arm, to caress down her body and explore the most amazing natural wonder he'd found in all his years; Kagome. His gaze flicked from his hand to the bandage encircling her shoulder; a strong reminder she was human… so slight… So delicate. She bled; sometimes that blood couldn't be stopped without help, sometimes her wounds didn't heal as his did. He could come back from the brink of death within a few days… she? She, again, couldn't.  
_  
Take her… Take her… Ours, all ours. She will make the most superb alpha… We have found well, take her now!_

He felt more than heard the impatient rumblings of the youkai that was infused with him, keen to be there at the forefront when they took their 'mate'. The mortal's heart beat like butterfly wings beneath him.

_I cannot… I do not think I am capable of it. She is so small, do you not see? Look at the size of her… She is mortal, she is not youkai; I am concerned we will hurt her… And she will not heal. She will fear us…_

_Fear is fine, fear is good. We will be her alpha, she should fear us. She is strong. Take her! Do not wait longer!_

_No! She does not understand the implications of mating… She is mortal! She does not know anything of demon heritage!_

_Take now, explain later; look at her! She wants us, I can hear our intended's moans, I can smell her arousal! Want! Need! TAKE. MATE. NOW!_

Sesshoumaru's outward expression belied none of the conversation he was having mentally; his inner youkai sounding more like a child than the relentless killing force it was.  
_I like you more when you're a silent presence,_ He hissed back in his mind; his eyes still locked onto his hand over her… So small…

"Lord Sesshoumaru?" Her hesitant voice brought him out of his reverie, he could see the lust draining from her eyes, filling with uncertainty and insecurity,  
"Is there some… Something I'm doing wrong? Something I'm not doing, and should be?"

His demon purred in his mind, apparently very pleased by the fact their intended was worried she was doing something incorrect, wanting to pleasure him too; the thought alone made his cock jump in anticipation,  
"No Kagome… This one was merely lost in his mind, my apologies…"

Kagome blinked, a little of that doubt fading, but not all of it. Sesshoumaru kept his eyes locked with her as he swirled his hand from her chest to the side of her ribcage, intentionally just brushing against the side of her breast, watching the heat rise in her expression again. He drug his hand down the plain of her stomach, coming to rest on one protruding hip, a guiding beacon; giving it a sharp squeeze.

Kagome gasped as his hand changed direction, sliding up slowly, travelling beneath her shirt, the warmth of his flesh on hers made her shudder. She'd never known lust so unhindered, such pure want that coursed through her virgin body; thinking of all the possible outcomes this night brought.

The feel of her skin against his burned, it was like touching his hand to an open flame; but this burn was good. It simmered, and bubbled; blistering his veins as his blood began to heat. Sesshoumaru smoothed his hand back down the valley of her abdomen, hooking a thumb on the thin material of her shirt, pulling it back to visually reveal the heat he'd felt, the thin material bunching where his index and thumb met.

Kagome lifted her hips forward, before curling up, making the task of removing her shirt all the more easy. Sesshoumaru had never seen the odd piece of clothing that covered her breasts, did not know the purpose but knew it by how provocative it was that it was not meant to be seen by others - besides a lover.

The priestess reached behind her back and unhooked her bra, watching how Sesshoumaru's eyes followed her movements assiduously. Kagome couldn't help but think about how unreal all of this felt; here she was, sitting in feudal japan, about to lose her virginity to the most beautiful youkai she'd ever laid eyes on. And the strongest. Yep, she definitely had to be dreaming.

She swallowed the cotton in her mouth and let the black material – the only barrier left between her bare skin and his burning eyes – drop away. Kagome couldn't pinpoint it exactly, but something almost… feral shifted behind the Daiyoukai's red-hazed eyes; suddenly making her feel very naked in his presence.

"Well?" Her voice caused his eyes to flick up to hers, "Aren't you going to undress too? I don't want to be the only one bare here."

Sesshoumaru could hear past the mocking tone to her uncertainty, "I'd rather you undress me."

Kagome flushed a deep crimson at the blunt statement. If she'd tried to speak she knew her voice would falter and her tongue would stutter; so she opted to give a gentle nod. The miko was suddenly acutely aware of her half-clothed body as she reached a hand forward, lifting her back from the ground to reach for his hakama strings; his haori tucked underneath the folds of material. Her eyes flicked to his obi and armour at their sides before back to his face; immediately dropping from the heat she saw there.

Her fingers suddenly felt numb and swollen, the difficulty it took to untie one side had her blushing even deeper, wondering if he was mentally making fun of her inexperience. _Probably,_ she thought, those damned insecurities rising again, _It's not like a gorgeous demon such as him, who has lived likely over a couple hundred years, has never laid with a woman before… He's probably internally laughing at me right now…_

Sesshoumaru could feel her anxiety flowing off of her in waves, her doubts and mental battles waging. Gold and red eyes narrowed slightly, his hand coming up to touch the bottom of her chin, raising her surprised face to his. The Daiyoukai examined those uncertain murky eyes before once again capturing her lips softly, her fingers still tangled in one side of his pants.

"Do not make that expression."

Kagome opened her eyes, her lips plump and swollen, "What do you mean?"

"I do not want to see you think of anything but pleasure."

The miko flushed again, Sesshoumaru had a way of stating very blunt and obvious things while negating the normal embarrassment that went along with saying such things. Kagome looked into his impassive expression as one side of his hakama suddenly fell away from him ministrations. For a flicker of a second, she saw InuYasha above her, cocky half-lidded eyes trained onto hers - and then he was gone. Abruptly Kagome thought about pain, about youkai nature and wondered was it the same as humans when it came to intercourse. What _was_ 'rough' for an inhumanly strong demon? Oh how easily lust gave way to fear.

Sesshoumaru froze, his face betraying nothing as her anxiety began washing away the scent of arousal. He could feel his youkai pacing; feel his own uncertainty at her fluctuating attitude.  
_We will wait… she is not ready for this step. It is too soon._

He expected complaints, demands, some sort of fit; but got the opposite. The words surprised him more so than anything else.

_She will not understand if we draw back. She will force herself to comply with our wants. She will be hurt…_

If he were honest, he didn't want to pull back – didn't know if he could; he'd never had even considered another's feelings before a coupling, and now it seemed he couldn't get past it. Sesshoumaru covered her trembling, fumbling hands with his as she tangled them into the strings on his left side, leaning his face down to hers to place a chaste kiss on her lips. He spoke softly against her mouth, sending little waves of tingles through the nerves in both of their flesh,  
"Miko. Tonight, let me enjoy you."

The silence surrounding them was captivating; soul-searching and destructive. InuYasha sighed gently, a soft whisper that sounded as loud as a scream. Amber eyes flicked to the side, landing on the beautiful women beside him. As always, she stole his breath away.

Her sleek hair trailed down her back, pulled into a loose ponytail near the base of her neck; signature locks hanging forward on either side of her face. Straight-cut black bangs rested against porcelain skin, contrasting more beautifully than InuYasha could put into words. Doe eyes slowly turned to rest on his, brightly reflecting the moon like the surface of still water. Their depths pooled with nothingness, an endless void he felt he could sink into.

_She is dead._ A soft voice floated through his mind, shaking her beauty from his mind, forcing him to concentrate, _She is dead, and this is what you gave Kagome up for._

InuYasha struggled against the urge to tuck his ears tightly against his skull; this internal conversation had not been the first of it's kind over the last few days since he'd damaged his relationship with Kagome beyond repair, but he was shamed with each one.

The wind tugged a lock of hair over Kikyou's shoulder, resting it softly over her stark white miko haori. The hanyou reached a hand up to tangle his fingers into that tempting hair, fisting it and bringing his hand to his lips. Even in death, she captivated him, tugged at all the right heart strings. Their tragic past caused him to be unable to let go; to have their relationship now, after she'd been stolen maliciously from his side, was their retribution; the salve on their wounds. So many wounds.

Kikyou smiled gently at him, dull eyes lighting a bit more. She closed her eyes allowing dark shadows to dance across her cheeks from her eye lashes as she place one of her hands over his,  
"Is there something you wish to talk about, InuYasha?"

"No, why?"

Her smile widened, a hint of bitterness displayed in the slightest way. She could feel his flesh beneath the cold skin of her hand, the magic that reanimated her did not force blood through her veins; therefore she felt not heat or cold. The widening and constriction of blood vessels was no longer necessary for her necrotic body. Kikyou lived, yes; but she did not _**live**_. Her being did not belong on this plain of existence any more than the kami themselves. Even now there was always a soft nagging feeling; something telling her there was something wrong, something off.

Yes, there was. Her. She, herself, was wrong. Kikyou opened her dark eyes slowly, down casting them to the ground at her knees, "You only ever get that expression when you think of her. I merely wondered if you should want to voice your thoughts aloud, is all."

"I-I! I was not!

Another soft smile; InuYasha growled softly and huffed, casting his own eyes away to the side stubbornly. He knew the she was aware of his lie; his white ears sagged softly, "I don't mean to… think of her."

"I am aware," Kikyou spoke softly, though she gave his hand a soft squeeze to encourage him, "One does not just forget all that transpired in the last four years in the blink of an eye. I am not angered, InuYasha."

Now it was his turn to look down, in shame this time. How blessed he was to have her; to have been able to keep one at all was pure luck. His affections had changed directions more times than he'd seen the seasons change, and yet he'd still managed to have Kikyou stay by his side in the end. Now he needed to devote himself to her to keep her; that much he knew.

"I can only hope for the ending to sway in my favor; to win your heart."

Her words had his gaze shooting to her face, wide and disbelieving. She looked back with a saddened smile; shaking her head softly and placing a smooth finger against his lips when he went to protest, "Nay, InuYasha. Do not dispute that which is true."

InuYasha settled back looking rather morose, a familiar shame burning through his veins.

Darkness shrouded the room, unnaturally clinging in the corners like tangible nightmares. A hanyou of another kind sat, contemplating his latest iniquitous plan, a bright glint flaring in his red eyes.

A slow grin tugged the corner of his lips into a thin line as he chuckled darkly, "Oh yes… Prepare yourself InuYasha… Sesshoumaru… I will draw you ever-closer into my web…"

Naraku stood, sharply turning on his heel and walking towards the shoji; his narrowed eyes reflected the star-brightened night as he stepped outside, the inky waterfall of black hair cascading down his back swayed with each step, "Yes. It will all begin soon."

The wind pushed gently at him, soft fingers brushing over his body as the malicious glint in his eyes intensified,  
"Go."

Hordes of demons flew past him, conjured almost seemingly from thin air. Armies of them taking to the skies; filling the air with the beat of wings and cries of war. Naraku's smile widened as the wind whipped around him in dangerous torrents; stirring leaves and dust in their wake.

Kagome swallowed sharply at the most intense look of possession mixed with lust that she'd ever seen. Something flashed behind his feral eyes; what? She couldn't tell. It was there and then gone, as if whatever he'd thought had never taken place.

A sharp snap rang out somewhere behind them causing Kagome to jump, her hand automatically flying to cover her breasts. Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed dangerously, a hint of red still apparent as he moved to stand while Kagome scrambled to struggle into her shirt that had been discarded carelessly at her side. She quickly shoved her bra into the waistband of her pants having nowhere else to put it and no time to put it on.

The miko was very conscious of her nipples pushing gently at the smooth cloth of her camisole as Rin stumbled into the clearing, her brown eyes wide and full of anxiety landing on her.

"Rin."

Sesshoumaru's tone drew the young girl's frantic dark eyes to his face; the miko and youkai watched as her expression crumbled and fat tear drops gathered, her voice breaking,  
"Lord Se-Sesshoumaru… Ka-go-omeee!"

Modesty forgotten, Kagome pushed to her feet and past the youkai's side to gather Rin into her body, feeling the child's small arms encircle her waist as Rin began to hiccough and silently sob; her small shoulders shaking with the effort to keep in her voice.

"Rin, oh sweetheart, what's the matter?" Kagome asked softly, entangling one hand comfortingly into Rin's dark hair.

For a moment it was silent besides the girls soft gasps and the soft of Kagome's hand rubbing circles into the back of Rin's yukata. When Rin spoke her tone was thick with tears, her voice shaking,  
"I w-woke up and you were bo-oth gone… And I th-thought maybe… In…InuYasha had… taken you a-again…"

Kagome's soft eyes sought Sesshoumaru's, his were locked onto the crying child, expression eternally unreadable. The miko noticed the side of his hakama she'd manage to untie was done up again and his obi tied around his waist;  
_When did he manage that? And how didn't I see him?_

Sesshoumaru flicked his eyes to hers before looking away, reaching down to grab onto the pauldron of his armour and obi; turning to walk the way Rin had come,  
"Rin. Do not worry yourself over trivial matters such as InuYasha. Were this Sesshoumaru here the first time, he would have been unsuccessful in his abduction and your injury."

Rin pulled her face back from Kagome's shirt, giving a smile past her wet cheeks she responded happily,  
"Yes, M'Lord!"

And that was that. Kagome blinked, astounded. Sesshoumaru had barely said two sentences and he reduced a child in tears to a smile. She felt Rin's hand envelope into hers and peeked down to see her face smiling up at her,  
"Let's go, Kagome!"

_Well… So much for that…_ Kagome thought to herself, her azure eyes glued to Sesshoumaru's retreating back, feeling her sex throbbing with each heartbeat between her legs. _We were actually making a lot of progress today… What… What would he have done?_

Kagome flushed a deep red in the night, unnoticed by her two companions. She had laid her chest bare to him (not that she hadn't before, but that was for him to tend to her wounds), allowed his hand to roam her skin creating hot paths where his fingers touched. He'd stared down at her with such a… burning expression…

_And… Kiss… He… Youkai,_ even in her mind she couldn't full form her sentences when she thought back, picturing the first gentle-turned-passionate kiss he'd captured her lips with.

_Please don't think me weak. Is this what you really want? I'd rather you undress me. I do not want you to think of anything but pleasure. Miko. Tonight let me enjoy you._

His voice repeated over and over in her mind, her thoughts so close to the gutter she could pretty much taste the puddled rain water as she pictured his carnal eyes. What did this mean for them? If she were to take his words out of context, it almost sounded like he was admitting he liked her.

She made him distracted, lose control of himself; to care and want… But what did that mean? Did it mean that he cared for her, or of her? Was she just a responsibility, a ward as Rin was? Did she merely attract him? Kagome frowned slightly, her eyes still locked worryingly on Sesshoumaru's shoulders.

The trio was arriving at the door of the cabin when Sesshoumaru froze, completing a hundred and eighty degree pivot before severing the air in front of his face, the youkai's glowing nails forming his acid whip that lashed across the space between them.

Kagome and Rin both froze as the glowing whip bypassed them and tore into the demons that seemingly appeared in the sky behind them. Growls and gurgles could be heard bubbling behind them as Kagome tore her gaze away from the vicious look in Sesshoumaru's eyes.

Adrenaline pumped through the young priestess as Rin screamed, ducking her head as a flying worm-looking youkai dove for her, merely to meet it's end at the hand of the Lord of the West. She heard Sesshoumaru growl deep, low in his throat, his eyes beginning to bleed into red. Kagome glanced behind her, feeling helpless without her bow which was – aggravatingly – five metres in front of her in the cabin; though she didn't dare leave Rin's side to attempt to retrieve them.

"Rin! Stay down!" Kagome commanded; azure eyes flashing as she shifted, the wind suddenly very cold on her bared shoulders. The miko had to admit that she was at least a little prideful that she'd stopped jumping every time the glowing whip lashed past her.

"Lord Sesshoumaru!" Rin's frantic tone reached Kagome's ears just as she felt the young child's hand ripped away from her own.

"RIN!"

A spider youkai had shot a web-silk line and entrapped Rin's leg, dragging her away from the other two. Kagome dashed forward, determination brightening her eyes,  
"GET OFF OF HER!"

Rin slid further from her reach, causing Kagome to dive for her – only to be caught in mid-air by a hawk youkai; the strong beat of wings and brush of feathers over her skin caused her to shudder, her blue eyes wide as she struggled, "RIN, NO!"

Sesshoumaru dashed forward, drawing Tokijin in one smooth motion; his feral yellow eyes glaring as he bared his teeth in anger, cutting down all that stood in his way.

But the demons kept coming, more and more, slowly pulling the girls opposite ways despite Sesshoumaru's best efforts. A dark chuckle rang through the air, causing the inu youkai to pause and, in all his self-righteous anger, pivot, turning to face a tall figure in a white baboon pelt.

"Well, well, quite the predicament, is it not, Sesshoumaru?" Naraku's voice trickled out of the demon puppet that stood in front of them. Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed sharply, remaining silent while a hurricane of emotions roiled around in his head,  
"I'm interested to know… who will you choose, great Lord of the West? For when you choose one, I will take the other."

Kagome sucked in a breath, throwing the Naraku-look-alike a glare and snarling,  
"Don't you fucking touch her, you bastard!"

Naraku met her anger with a guffaw, throwing his head back merrily while that wretched sound echoed through the air,  
"Touchy, touchy, Priestess. Keep that up and I may just need to take it upon myself to teach you some manners."

Sesshoumaru watched a shudder make its way down the young girl's spine. Hatred filled the dog demon, the emotion pushing against his body, feeling wrong to be trapped in a body so small while it was seemingly so large.

"You know Sesshoumaru; I think it's rather quite generous of me to even give you a choice… Perhaps I shall take them both? I would make your decision with due haste before I change my mind."

Kagome could just picture Naraku's slimey grin behind that godforsaken mast; her voice pushing past her pain-constricted voice as the clawed feet of the hawk youkai tightened on her upper arms, pinching skin and squeezing hard enough to bruise,  
"Leave Rin, take me. I'm making the choice for him!"

The mask turned towards her, and despite not being able to see them, she knew his eyes locked onto hers as she gritted her teeth, Naraku letting out a huff of a laugh,  
"Well… I'll honour your choice, Priestess; but acknowledge this… I'll also make you regret it. Do you still wish to sacrifice yourself?"

Kagome's azure eyes flicked to Rin, who seemed to be unconscious in the arms of a particularly grotesque youkai; determination flickering to life once more as she locked gazes with the mask,  
"Yes."

Sesshoumaru's hand tightened on the hilt of his blade as he took a running leap forward, raising his blade,  
"You. Will. Get. Neither!"

He shoved his sword deep into the baboon-pelted body, driving it straight to the hilt before tearing the blade sideways; snagging on several unmentionable things in its body. One would have expected blood, and lots of it, when Sesshoumaru tore his blade free of the body; yet there was none. The body nearly disintegrated into dirt with a wooden figure laying on top that abruptly snapped in half.

Eyes blinking red, Sesshoumaru slashed through the nearest demons, aware of the fact they were succeeding in moving the two girls further apart.

"SESSHOUMARU! SAVE RIN!" Kagome bellowed, wincing as the hawk transferred her to a snake youkai who spun around her body, constricting. Red and blue eyes flicked towards her, narrowing,  
"Trust me! I-… Nngh, I'll be… Fine!"

He hesitated, his movements jerking to a stop as he waged an internal fight with himself over who to save first. He knew he couldn't risk a range attack lest he hit her, therefore he'd need to be up close and demon when fighting. But while he fought for one, they would disappear with the other; as far as the situation stood now, he would lose them both if he didn't choose. Clearly he was not convinced she'd be fine, the miko growled out,  
"Go. Now!"

A deep growl filtered through the air before a curt nod after which he flashed off into the forest on the further side of the clearing. The youkai transferred her again to another flying beast that took to the air, blood seeping from her now re-opened wound as she stared unflinchingly into the night-darkened forests, now and then catching what looked to be lightening.

_Good… Save Rin… Make sure she's fine… I'll be okay,_ Kagome thought to herself, her eyes pinching into a scowl, _And… I will maim that bastard half-demon…_

The miko bit the inside of her cheek to keep from uttering a noise as a thick appendage wrapped around her chest and stomach, squeezing. So tight, pushing the air from her lungs in a pain-filled gasp; no air, too constricted. She couldn't pull air in if she wanted.

Kagome scowled as her vision began to darken, gossamer threads forming in front of her pupils. She wasn't sure, but she thought she may have just expelled the last of the air in her lungs as her head drooped down, her eyelids closing of their own accord. She ceased to feel the air on her face or the thick coiling body wrapped over hers. Was that a roar she just heard? It sounded so far away… So far…

"WIND SCAR!" InuYasha swung the Tetsusaiga, unleashing its power to destroy a chunk of the horde of youkai no doubt sent after them by Naraku. Golden eyes burned in the night, seeking Kikyou behind him; watching as she drew back a slim arrow that looked to be harmless against their foe. Power suffused the air, crackling little static shocks against the hanyou's flesh. A pink sheen of holy power engulfed the arrow as the miko let it fly, her brown gaze hardened as she watched the beasts disintegrate.

"You okay, Kikyou?"

She nodded at him, gaze only flickering to him from them in quick succession before she knocked another arrow,  
"I'm running out of arrows."

They'd been fighting for at least twenty minutes straight with no end in sight; swarms of youkai crowded the air around them, diving in at all angles; swivelling from the trees and dive-bombing from the air.

InuYasha wiped the sweat from his eyes as he pivoted, hefting the enlarged Tetsusaiga as he let out a roar of prostration, his limbs feeling heavier every moment he continued.  
_Dammit_, InuYasha thought viciously, baring his teeth as he slashed through another demon, his muscles burning, _I don't know how much longer I can keep this going… Fuck! What is their aim?_

InuYasha heard the priestess cry out from behind him,  
"InuYasha! Watch out!"

His golden eyes turned and locked onto a dragon demon a mere split second before it pummelled straight into the side of his head and he knew no more.

Dark… It was so dark… and sweet smelling. That kind of sweet smell caused by still water and damp stone over time. Kagome shook her head, coming back to herself as she lifted a weighted wrist to rub at her face, jerking her arm back at the feel of something hard and cold against her cheek.

_Chains… I'm actually chained… That bastard,_ Kagome thought darkly, giving an experimental tug, listening to the links chink together. The miko closed her eyes, out of the fray now she tried to search deep within herself to find her miko powers, hoping they would be of some use.

"I … I can't sense them…" She spoke aloud, too surprised to even notice the far corner darkened with another figure.

Kagome held back a scream as she heard the scrape of metal against rock, the same rattling of chains, and a groan come from across the room. Her wide azure eyes locked onto the slightly darker spot – dammit! Why couldn't there be even a sliver of light? – her heart speeding of a fraction; yet there was something… familiar about that noise.

Silence buffeted her ears, as she stared, the moving having stopped. She heard a soft intake of breath, her ears straining, then the soft swish of fabric.

"…Ka…Kagome?"

She nearly hissed through her teeth, her pupils shrinking in a spike of adrenalin as her eyes widened,  
_InuYasha…_

"Kagome? That's… That's you right?"

Her hands trembled slightly, fear seeping off of her in an almost tangible wave. She hadn't seen him since… since the **incident**. She swallowed the cotton in her mouth, her jaw dropping and closing several times, the words refusing to leave her tongue.

"Kagome… Kagome, I'm so sorry…"

He sounded broken, even to her. It was almost painful to hear after the past they'd shared, all of the joy, sorrow, and… fear. She shifted, fitting herself into the corner as tight as she could, squeezing her eyes shut and fisting her palms.

"Kagome… Please… Please talk to me…"

InuYasha's voice cracked, the links on his chains clinked sharply.

"Y-Yes…" Her tongue felt swollen in her mouth, like trying to talk past a marshmallow – only, this wasn't the Chubby Bunny game, and she wasn't laughing.

"Kagome! Oh thank the Gods, you're okay," relief was almost palpable, his words gushing past his lips so fast they almost slurred together,  
"Are you okay? Are you hurt at all? I can smell blood."

The miko blinked, finding it a slight relief that talking to him wasn't as hard as she thought it would be; she wondered just how far their chains reached, and shamefully hoped he couldn't reach her,  
"N-No…I'm okay, I th-think."

"Good, that's good! Do you know what that bastard Naraku is planning?"

"No… Unfortunately," _Good job girl, getting easier with every word,_ she congratulated herself. She could hear footsteps coming towards them, her heartbeat picking up a bit once more,  
"But I have a feeling we're about to find out…"


	12. Worthless

Hey all! No, I have not died or disappeared into Wonderland (though wouldn't that be cool?). My apologies once again for the late update… I never thought making a fanfic would be so hard. I have no desire to leave the story unfinished but I had a bit of trouble with this chapter and finding my motivation. Alas! I hope you enjoy, please review to keep my hopes up and get faster updates! Though I work a lot (and long shifts at that) I always try to write a little each night—or at least review what I've got. Thanks for sticking with me guys!

CHAPTER 12

"YOU BASTARD!" InuYasha wrenched against his shackles, the metal length thrumming with tension as he pulled and thrashed, gnashing his teeth at the figure of –in his opinion- one seriously screwed-up hanyou.

"Now, Now, InuYasha; you've always had such a temper," His voice fell from his lips like silk, cold and flowing. He chuckled to himself as if he'd made a joke as the two prisoners glared daggers at him,  
"Thrash all you like, you're only expending unnecessary energy. Those chains binding you are blessed by a dark priestess, slowly draining your life force. The more you expend, the more it takes."

InuYasha growled low in his throat, his golden eyes shimmering with unconcealed hatred in the fire light that the door let in.  
_Is that why I can't feel my powers?…_ Kagome mused silently, her azure eyes narrowed into a deeper scowl, internally searching for her innate abilities and coming back with nothing.

Kagome took her eyes off of the evil half-demon to take in her surroundings; they were shackled to two separate walls across from each other. Both of their wrists and ankles were chained, both had only a short distance the chain would allow them to move forward – and it seemed InuYasha was at his limit.

The enclosure was small, maybe ten by ten (give or take); it seemed they were in a cave of some sort. Uneven stone surrounded them, small pools of moisture puddled here and there; the walls themselves even felt a bit damp and cool.

The miko stiffened as Naraku stepped closer to her, dismissing InuYasha easily as his red gaze locked onto hers, malicious intent gleaming gleefully in the background,  
"And you, dear Kagome, ever-the-sacrifice; I think I will have some fun with you."

She felt her body break out into an adrenaline induced sweat, her pupils blowing wide as the hanyou of many reached forward to clasp her chin, forcing her to look at him. She shoved down the urge to shudder ruthlessly, refusing to show this demon fear even as InuYasha roared in anger, thrashing once more against his bonds as he spouted inanities and threats that fell upon deaf ears.

"You… Will be… Sorry," she rasped out, proud when her voice didn't betray her and quake as her knees were; jerking her face from his grasp. Naraku merely smiled as he unlocked the length of chain connecting to both her feet and ankles from the wall, turning on heel. Kagome had the choice to stumble after him or be dragged; she chose the route that at least saved a little of her dignity.

"YOU BASTARD! DON'T YOU DARE FUCKING TOUCH HER! I'LL KILL YOU! YOU HEAR ME? I **WILL** GET FREE, AND I WILL DESTROY YOU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" InuYasha's threats barely registered in her fear-hazed mind, her heart beating irregularly in her chest caused a pounding in her ears that drowned him all but out,  
"KAGOME! KAGOME I'LL SAVE YOU! KAGOOMEEEEE!"

His cries muted slightly when the door closed behind them, Kagome shuffling (albeit reluctantly) behind the evil half-demon; InuYasha's screams fading. Naraku walked her through a maze of (underground?) tunnels, lit by sconces along the way. The silence unnerved her, made her wonder what he was going to say, what he was going to do, and where the hell was he taking her?

As if sensing her distress, he glanced over his shoulder, tossing a small grin as he looked her up and down,  
"Don't look so worried Miko, we're just going to talk… For now."

Kagome's eyes sharpened with hatred; people could refer to her as **a** miko, but to refer to her **as** Miko was a nickname she'd reserved personally for Sesshoumaru – the only one she secretly enjoyed hearing it from. The pretentious tone he was using made her feel sick as she glared daggers at his back continuing to trip along behind him; fear beginning to weave its way through her anger; fear at the unknown to come.

Sesshoumaru dashed forward, his beast merging with him as his anger continued to rise. The claws on his hand lengthened that much more as his anger spiked, glowing green with acid while he tore through the enemies surrounding him. Fury flowed through him, white and scorching; this was unacceptable. To have been fooled so easily – regardless of the number of foe – was ridiculous in his mind; a mind that was becoming more bestial as he began shifting form. Growing into the air, the feel of air ruffling through his fur - finally feeling complete and right in his natural form; a howl tore loose from his throat.

Vengeance would be his. Sesshoumaru refused to let even one of the youkai cowardly slip away as he bee-lined for Rin while playing a Sesshoumaru-rendition of what future mortals would call "Whack-a-Mole."

Sharpened senses caught Rin's terrified scream, having clearly awoken from her unconscious state. The inu youkai growled lowed in his throat, the sound rumbling like thunder from his giant body. He barrelled through the little distance left between them, pawing down foe left, right, and center, blood coating the pads of his feet like so much paint. He caught sight of her and leapt forward, dragging his youki around him, binding him down to his human form as he landed in the thick of the enemies surrounding her.

"Lord Sesshoumaru!" Rin gasped, a smile lighting her pale face as he buried acid-dripping claws into the spider demon that currently held her; a hiss met his ears and the stench of burning flesh almost had him wrinkling his over-sensitive nose at the acrid smell.

"Look away, Rin," His guttural tone rumbled from his throat, the little girl obeyed immediately. Despite knowing that she had seen, and been through, worse, he still didn't like her to see death. The youkai cried out, releasing her as Sesshoumaru's poison shot though it's veins, slowing disintegrating it from the inside out. Sesshoumaru glanced down at his hand, slowly beginning to come back to himself.

_These hands… They are not meant to hold, but to kill_, he thought to himself before his now-golden gaze drug over the small girl's body,  
"Are you unharmed?"

"I… I think so," Rin replied gently, adoring doe eyes gazing at her lord, "But… But what about Kagome…"

Sesshoumaru tried not to cringe at the wavering tone of his ward and the flow of guilt torrenting through him. Once again that bastard hanyou had taken what he claimed as his; once more, Sesshoumaru made a silent vow to destroy his existence.

"Do not worry Rin… I will get her back."

Naraku lead the priestess through the caverns to a new room, blocked off by a heavy oak door. Torches on the wall threw the room in a relief of dancing shadows, leaping threateningly from corner to corner as the hanyou strung the young girl up by her shackles in the center of the room.

Kagome refused to give the malicious youkai the pleasure of seeing her pain as the enchanted metal dug awkwardly into the skin of her wrists, biting back a yelp. Naraku had her hands now hoisted above her head, the chain giving her just enough stand comfortably but not enough to relax her spine.

She became acutely aware of the fact that somewhere between the fight and waking up in Naraku's newest hideout, she'd lost her bra from the elastic waistband of her pants. Kagome fidgeted uncomfortably as she realized with a small tingle that fear had pushed her nipples against the thin sheathing of her camisole, and she was unable to even cross her arms from the demon.

A hurricane of unease whirled inside of her suddenly as she realized just how helpless she was against Naraku right now, shuddering as he chuckled silkily.

"Ahh, Miko, it seems that you've finally realized your position," a grin tugged at lips on a face that would've been considered handsome had there not been so much apparent malice pooled in it. He circled her, place a hand on her hip and dragging it around to her lower back, one finger trailing up her spine as he whispered in her ear,  
"A defenseless… weak… female."

Kagome wrenched as far to the side as she could, a scowl pinching her eyes as she hissed,  
"Don't you fucking touch me you bastard."

Naraku laughed, the stench of her fear cloying in his nose, exciting him. His crimson eyes pinned her own as he stepped in front of her, raising a hand to cup the side of her face,  
"Do not worry, Kagome…"

She couldn't stop the tremor that began deep in her bones, the syllables of her name rolling off of his tongue sounding like a curse. Her eyes began to burn with unshed tears and she grit her teeth as his other hand stroked down her chest and forcefully grabbed her right breast. Unable to help herself, she clenched her teeth tighter as a choked sob worked its way up her throat,  
"We'll have plenty of time… to play."

"D…Don't… touch me…" her voice breathed past dry lips, turning her face away from that disgustingly warm hand the touched her skin too intimately; unable to pull her body away from the other hand that fondled her.

"Hmm…" Naraku stepped back, pretending to ponder something before another cruel grin lit his lips,  
"You know, I think you're wearing too much."

Widened azure eyes flew to his as he reached toward the hem of her pajama pants. Kagome wrenched and twisted violently, her hips bucking left and right to avoid his hands. She began to cry, feeling the blood rise in her skin, sweat breaking out,  
"Stop! Please! Please don't!"

Naraku easily captured her, dragging her against the hard line of his body using the band in the polyester. Kagome writhed against him, fear ravaging her senses as she collapsed against the chains holding her up, blood seeping down her now injured wrists. She sobbed as he slid the material from her legs to pool at her ankles, the shackles there ensuring he could not get them off completely unless he were to cut them.

He smiled, a hateful thing that filled his face with sadistic glee, _So close, but just out of her reach to cover herself._ He would enjoy torturing her, breaking her spirit slowly. The first step was to uncover all of her modesty, bear all of her. A prisoner should never feel comfortable after all.

Naraku ignored her protests, slowly raising her shirt with its foreign flimsy material above her head and wrapping it around the shackles on her wrists. Again, so close, but she'd be unable to retrieve it.

His red gaze roamed over the majority of her body now bared to him, over long, slim legs, a creamy stomach and pink-tipped nipples that budded with adrenaline. She wore the weirdest loin-cloth he'd ever seen, but along with her other clothes, it didn't surprise him too much. Suddenly, the hanyou was eager to get the thin black material – the last piece of clothing adorning her skin – off.

Kagome cried freely, her shoulders aching with strain, injured from the constant jerking around, her wrists still leaked blood from where her skin had been rubbed raw and broken. The cool air of the room brushed her skin, her stomach twisting in disgust and fear at her inability to get away from the hands roving her.

Feel closed her throat, her lungs burning intensely as she gasped for air and shuddered, exhaling sobs. Her eyes were shut, her mind having long since turned the sound of her pleading voice to white noise in her head. She felt a jerk as he tore away the last remaining defense of her skin, her shame and embarrassment intensifying.

Having completely stripped her of all clothing, the hanyou stepped back, and let his gaze freely rake over her body, appreciating all of the curves, even the small softly curling patch of dark hair at the juncture of her legs.

"Se-Sesshoumaru… W-will… Kill you, y-you … B-bastard!" She cried, her eyes still shut, unable to look at the man that defiled her modesty, her soul burning with hate.

He chuckled,  
"Silly girl… Sesshoumaru will not come for you, mortal. He is a demon, and you were but a mere pass-time to him. Oh? Did you think you were more?"

Kagome's azure eyes blinked blurrily at the floor, her head softly shaking back and forth,  
"He… He will… He will come for me…"

Naraku laughed,  
"You are but one human of billions. There are many more like you; what makes you think you were special? He'll merely replace you, probably having already come to his senses and get himself a youkai female better suited to his stature… Yes… That sounds more likely than continuing to dabble with mortal females. Foolish woman, to have thought yourself important."

Naraku turned, placing her at his back as he opened the door to leave, pausing to listen to her sob once more. He smiled darkly, _Oh yes… I will enjoy breaking her… Such a pretty little thing. Perhaps I shall keep her in the end… So much like dear Kikyou._

InuYasha struggled against the chains binding him, his voice hoarse from yelling. Panting, he sagged against the corner, the tangy smell of his blood pungent in his nose,  
"That slimey bastard… I'll fucking kill him!"

Gnashing his teeth against the pain he tried to rip his limbs from their prison, failing once more.  
_I wonder if she still… hates me…_ The thought rolled into his head unbidden, his yellow eyes dimming, _It would serve me right… I smelled her fear but that could've been because of the situation we're in! Yeah! She's scared because she knew we were in Naraku's grasp! … No. Even I can't try to fool myself that much._

He sighed, worrying at his lip with a fang as he strained triangular ears to hear for any sounds, a hint of anything that was happening beyond the solid door to his room.

Nothing. He could only hear the solid dripping coming from the other side of the room. InuYasha cursed vehemently.

Miroku's spine jerked straight, his head lifting with a sudden realization. Sango trailed to a stop, her concerned gaze locking onto his,  
"What's the matter, Miroku?"

"I sense… a strong spiritual power coming…"

The two trained their eyes on the edge of the forest, a fuchsia glow becoming visible from within. The pair held their breath as a very pissed off priestess entered the clearing, her skin crackling with little electric bolts of power, brown eyes pinched into a tight scowl.

"…Priestess Kikyou…" Sango spoke softly in awe, a frightening force that priestess was.

Kikyou met their questioning eyes, forcing herself to reign in her power, drawing most of the mystic light away into herself,  
"I seek aid for vengeance against Naraku… He has taken InuYasha, and he will now pay the price."

"He has InuYasha?" Miroku sputtered; his disbelief apparent on his face. In all the time they travelled with the hanyou, there was never once that Naraku tried to capture their friend, only injure to kill.

Sango's first thought was to join her immediately, but soon to follow was the restrained grudge she still held against the hanyou for hurting their friend, still not completely understanding what it was that he did, only that it was horrible enough to cause her to leave - with Sesshoumaru none the less.

Miroku glance out of the side of his eye, watching Sango frown before closing her eyes, determination beginning to bleed into her expression,  
"Yes. We'll help you. He's still out friend after all… Naraku has wronged us all."

Kikyou stared at her a moment long before giving a soft nod,  
"Then now we depart."

Truth be told, she had not expected to come upon the remains of his group; but since she had, she did not want to let the opportunity pass. Her hands clenched tight in the sleeve of her white miko haori, an intense flame burning with hate in the pit of her stomach.

_Naraku… What is it you hope to gain? I will save InuYasha…_

Sesshoumaru clenched his jaw at the wave of fury that rolled through him, his agitation growing with each passing second.

Rin had woken Shippou upon their return; his tears for his once-again lost adoptive mother had the Daiyoukai's already dark mood blackening further. Rin had caught his apprehension and began to fret herself, tears pooling in her dark eyes. Suddenly, he found himself in the company or two crying children, a still sleeping imp and a silent dragon. Forcing himself to remain detached and calm the children first with promises of her return and Naraku's pain, Sesshoumaru then woke Jaken.

"I depart now. Jaken… Rin and Shippou are under your care. If you should fail…" as always, the imp understood the implied threat of a punishment rivalled by no other, and nodded furiously.

Now the Daiyoukai found himself soaring through the air, the empty sleeve of his white and red haori batting softly against the boiled leather plates covering his most vulnerable organs. Moon-kissed hair splayed across his back, ripping back and forth with the torrents of wind he pushed through, his eyes narrowed against the numbing force.

_Must retrieve intended… She is ours… How dare he…_

The voice slithered into his head along with a gale of fury. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes further, still uncertain on whether making the miko his mate would be a good choice or bad, apparently his youkai had long since decided. Though it was his youkai that had desired her all along, and he only just recently began to notice her effects on him.

"We will get her back… Naraku has made the mistake of once again threatening what is mine… I was to show him a swift death before, now – I will make him beg for mercy."

He felt the glee and anticipation of destruction course through him courtesy of his youkai. Demons were, of course, malicious by nature; full youkai all had the instincts to do bad, all had the voice in their heads whispering encouragement. Hanyous were only overtaken by force of their youkai at desperate times, so they never truly understood the burden of – for lack of a better term – living with another.

Some youkai were lucky and merely had separate feelings that differentiated between their demon, others like he had ones that chose to speak. For youkai, to choose a mate meant they had to agree together on their choice, otherwise it just… wouldn't work. And Sesshoumaru's was more stubborn than most.

His demon had always elated in conquering others, happy to walk the path of supreme conquest with him, never before having shown an interest past a one-time sexual desire in another youkai, none-the-less human. His other half's determination had surprised him in the beginning, but then again, he himself was strong-willed as well.

Sesshoumaru sniffed, catching mere hints of the disgusting smell of rotting corpses and blood that was Naraku's miasma. It was now a game of hide and seek, one in which Sesshoumaru would win.

Kagome's head lolled against her shoulder, dull eyes staring at the same three walls as the last…. However long she'd been there. It'd felt like months, years even, though realistically she knew it had only been maybe a few days. She'd tried counting by the times meals were brought to her, but had long since forgotten, one meal blending into the next. Her arms ached, at least now Naraku allowed enough slack when he was away to have her sit comfortably on the floor with her arms lowered – though not enough to grasp the clothing just past her feet, ever torturing her. Yet every time he entered she found herself yanked straight, bearing every bit of her body to him.

For the longest time she'd been embarrassed, spiteful and full of seething hate. Now, hate took too much energy, energy the shackles chaining her drained. All she felt was uncomfortable and inferior to the hanyou.

His favorite thing to do was to torture her with small touches, gliding his fingertips across her ribs, down her spine, sometimes cupping her ass. She hated it, hated every second his disgusting flesh met hers… She feared it - feared for the moment that it could become more than a teasing touch.

He left her in tears every time, smiling cruelly with satisfaction, slowly breaking away every bit of confidence that held her spine straight. Always leaving her with a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Kagome's adrenaline sped up as she heard muffled footsteps approaching, stopping outside of her door. Her pupils dilated as the lock clicked, drawing herself into as tight ball as she could when the heavy oak slowly pulled back to reveal Kagura. The priestess held back a sigh of relief as the kaze witch stepped into the room, shutting the door behind her.

In Kagura's hands was a finely crafted simple wooden plate, atop which was some bread with butter as well as a well-balanced cup of milk.

"Eat."

"I don't want to," her raspy voice grated against her own ears as she pulled her gaze to the side.

"Tch!" Kagura chewed the inside of her cheek, her anger rising. Naraku had threatened her to make the miko eat, and she would. The wind youkai was glad for the hanyou's new toy, it meant he mostly left her alone to her own devices,  
"I wasn't asking."

Kagome's flat stare lifted, broken spirited, she looked to the bread and felt like she'd heave. Since being her, never knowing when Naraku would pop up – which was at least a few times daily – food had seemed to stop agreeing with her. Maybe it was the first time she'd urinated on herself, strung up by the chains, flinching as she felt her bladder give and cringed at the warm liquid cascading down her legs. Naraku had laughed as she cried, relishing in the fact that he'd been able to take away even more comfort than she'd thought possible. He'd later had Kagura come by and dump a bucket of cold water across her legs.

Or possibly, it was the next similar situation when she'd been forced to defecate in the corner, once again to have the cruel hanyou laugh at her. Her heart felt shattered, her spirits dim. She wondered how Sesshoumaru would even be able to find her… Perhaps he'd stopped looking like Naraku had claimed.

Another favourite of his games was to tell her how simple she was, how idiotic it was to believe that the great Lord of the West would care for such a pathetic mortal as her. He played her conscience with treacherous games that left her wondering. Eventually, she'd come to believe him.

It was stupid to think someone as strong and perfect as Lord Sesshoumaru would come to care for a simpleton like her. Even more to think that he desired her and her filthy mortal body. Kagome shuddered as thoughts of him plagued her, negative thoughts that had her eyes filling with tears at her own idiocy to create such lustrous visions of them in the first place. She was nothing more than a responsibility to him, someone he said he'd take care of because she was too weak to do it himself and he pitied her. Now, she was too much effort, and morals be damned, he'd never come for her.

Kagura growled low in her throat, her fingers tightening their hold on the plate as the miko's eyes filled with tears. She set the plate in front of her, jarring the young girl from her thoughts, and threatened in a low voice,  
"I will be back in ten minutes… If you've not finished everything, I'll be sure to send Naraku in next."

She watched as those azure eyes flicked up to hers, filling with fear. A low blow, yes, but the hanyou had long since made it his mission to make Kagura's life a living hell, more so than the girl could ever know.

It was long ago that he'd first taken her, pumped himself into her body and filled her with his sterile seed just for the pleasure of watching her squirm and attempt to keep her expression free of hate. To make her tell him how good it felt, and how much she loved having him inside her. Demeaning sexual acts had become a favourite punishment of his, and raping her when he was frustrated was a mere stress reliever. When things didn't go his way, he could at least take some solace in causing her pain and misery, forcing her to subject herself to his particular kind of torture. After all, what was more shaming than to force unwanted 'pleasure' onto someone that hated you? Or better yet, to force them to pleasure you while they received nothing. No matter what, she would not accept that punishment on behalf of the miko.

InuYasha raised his battered face, honeyed eyes bright to hatred and unconcealed rage,  
"You fucking coward," he coughed out, spitting blood to the side before another fist pummelled into his cheek, his face forcefully blown to the left.

Naraku laughed maliciously, his crimson eyes pinning the pathetic sight in front of him. InuYasha was still chained, his hands pale from lack of circulation, blood – dried and new – running rivulets down his wrists from deep gouges due to struggling. The hanyous face had several open lacerations; one eye completely swollen shut, a broken nose and split lip – all courtesy of the spider. And that was just his face.

His fire rat haori had been ripped open and torn with the last couple whippings, the tanned planes of his stomach riddled with bruises of all colours, shapes and sizes, deep gouges and shallow slashes covering the rest of his visible skin. Along his legs there were several tears in the cloth and blood soaking in from behind; slowly spreading and seeping along the fabric. All in all, the inu hanyou looked like shit. Just the way Naraku liked him.

InuYasha felt a slight tickling sensation as blood trickled down his bared chest, travelling the slopes and hills of his muscled flesh. His wrists ached fiercely but he refused to show any weakness to this bastard,  
"Where the fuck is Kagome, you sadistic asshole!" he snarled, baring his small pearly fangs.

A deep growl rumbled low in his chest as Naraku smiled virulently,  
"You better not have fucking done anything to her… I swear… I'll murder you where you stand."

"Oh, and praytell, Inu-Ya-Sha. Just how to you plan to do that?" He drew out the hanyou's name gleefully, his crimson eyes gleaming as he watched the hanyou struggle harder, reopening old wounds and spewing out a string of curses that left the other hanyou laughing.

Finished with playing with him for the day, he left, slamming the door against the hanyou's ragged voice spouting promises of retribution. A slow smile curved his lips, he'd had more fun than he'd ever thought possible for the last five days. Alas, the time was getting closer for the enraged youkai and priestess to make their appearance. Then, the sparks would really fly.

Sango and Miroku sat stationary atop Kirara's back as they ambled through the sky, just after Kikyou who was being flown by her soul collectors. Their journey was silent, though it seemed as if the miko knew where she was going so the taijiya and houshi didn't ask.

Miroku gripped his staff tighter as Sango's voice floated back to him,  
"Why do you think he took InuYasha? It doesn't make any sense…"

"Perhaps he was trying to draw Kikyou to him?"

"But… If that were the case, then couldn't he just go after her on his own?"

Miroku paused, his mind roving over the few facts that they had,  
"Then… InuYasha was in the way? Maybe he couldn't get to the priestess with InuYasha there…"

Sango thought for a moment before shaking her head back and forth,  
"There's definitely more to it than that… He would've killed InuYasha and come back for Kikyou later… Now he's drawing her in. It's definitely a trap. But what's his angle…"

The houshi's lips pulled into a flat line, the arm he had wrapped around his lovers waist flexed in agreement for a second before relaxing, the two falling back into a determined silence as they travelled, weary of what they would come across when they found the hanyou.

Suddenly, a shiver went up his spine as a strong youki permeated the air, coming from behind. Sango stilled, turning to look at Miroku with questioning eyes.

"The only person I know with that much power would be… Sesshoumaru."

Sesshoumaru clenched his jaw as he heard his name; he'd been planning to ignore his hanyou half-brother's group of misfits as soon as their scents had breached his nose. He still could, he pondered, but ever the tactician, he also thought they may currently hold information that he'd find useful.

Sesshoumaru touched down inaudibly, red-tinged eyes glaring mercilessly at the odd band of three. The houshi and taijiya stepped back out of some long-ago ingrained innate instinct, subtly trying to portray their harmlessness to the Daiyoukai,  
"What is it you want. This Sesshoumaru has property to collect."

Kikyou stepped forward, her slim body swathed in the appropriate miko garb despite her lifeless status,  
"Where is it you head with such haste and anger, Lord Sesshoumaru."

Golden orbs pinned her silently for a moment before narrowing further,  
"The disgusting hanyou Naraku has crossed this one for the last time."

As if clueing in, Sango gasped sharply,  
"Kagome..." She breathed, her wide brown eyes staring in obvious surprise and immediate concern.

Kikyou blinked, unbothered by the fierceness the youkai displayed, clearly able to see the torrenting youki swirling around him, barely contained by his infamous control,  
"I seek Naraku to rescue InuYasha from his grasp. Let us be allies on this mission instead of foe."

Sesshoumaru flicked his gaze between the two mortals and undead priestess as if he was gauging his options before giving the slightest of nods and leaping back into flight, once more tracking Kagome's severely faded scent.

Miroku let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding, climbing back atop Kirara as he said softly,  
"A nod was more than I hoped to get out of him... Come, let us make haste after Sesshoumaru. He seems to know where he's going..."

"Indeed." Kikyou murmured softly, turning away and allowing herself to be lifted gently into the air by her soul collectors, once more heading towards the malicious hanyou who'd captured her lover; all the while thoughts of his demise soothing her aching anger deep in her soul. She would have her revenge.

Kagome opened dull azure eyes as she lay laterally recumbent and listless against the cold wood floor. The silver lining was at least this room was slightly warmer than its cave-like counterpart where she'd awoken however many days ago. She breathed out a sigh, for the first time in her life feeling completely defeated. More so than when she'd caught InuYasha with Kikyou that final time. Even more than when she finally came around to realize that her hanyou best friend would never come to love her in the way she wanted him to.

She felt bared, every nuance of her body stared at, every secret she's ever kept dragged out into the light. She felt violated in a way she never imagined possible, constantly tortured by the thought that **he** could return at any moment to enjoy himself further with her humiliation and submittance; never forgetting to taunt her with 'enlightenment' of all of the things she was unworthy of. The great Daiyoukai being one of them.

Kagome swallow dryly as her stomach rumbled. She'd lost the will to eat within the first twenty-four hours of being a prisoner, having no wish for her body's digestion to be laughed at any further. Everything felt sore and raw, the little bit of healthy extra weight that she'd carried had slowly dwindled over the last couple days, only ever eating a bite or two - just enough to satisfy her captors with her ever-hated ensured survival.

Tear burned in her eyes, something she'd long-since thought had run dry, as she thought of the great inu youkai, his little ward, Shippou, and even the imp demon. She wondered if she'd die in there, become a sack of skin and bones until her body decided to give out.

_I think I finally understand why there are so many people who commit suicide... Who wants to live in this world where they are worth nothing? The dirt beneath their feet is more precious than the blood running through their cursed veins..._ Her thoughts wandered, the only thing left to her that was free, _I wouldn't want him to save me... I would never want him to see this grotesque body bared... He would probably turn away in disgust and dismiss me... At least here, I'll never face the rejection that was inevitable to come... After all, Naraku is right about one thing... I'm not worth his time...I'm not worth anything._

Naraku paused outside of the miko's door, a delighted grin smudged over his lips as he thought about all of the things he could say to further break her spirit. As he reached for the door, a tingle ran through his spine that caused him to pause.

"Alas... Now the true fun begins..."

Sesshoumaru felt himself cross over a line of youki, knowing far in advance that his presence would not go by undetected. He clenched his jaw, grinding his back teeth together as he struggled to keep himself under control. Long gone was his mercy for a quick death to the hanyou; it was now personal and he would delight in his death and in causing it to be as painful as possible.

The Daiyoukai came over the crest of a mountain, honing in on a structure built directly into the rocks wall just past a plateau. He touched down, his nose raised slightly as he scented the air for a whiff of Kagome.

**She is here... Mate is here... Take her away. Soothe her. Save her. Mate is distressed. Mine. Mine. Mine.**

Sesshoumaru snarled mentally at his beast, snapping for silence, _We will save her. We will kill the hanyou..._

**Yes... Kill hanyou... Save mate... Hanyou can wait... We will kill him...**

Sango shivered gently as they touched down a little ways away from Sesshoumaru, taking in his tensed being. He was seriously on edge, standing straighter than normal, his clothes and hair billowing against and around him; even his face was more strained and ferocious - the personification of vengeance.

_Wouldn't want to be Naraku today... Not that I would any other day either, but today especially..._

Naraku's voice boomed around them, mocking them in it's gleeful tone,  
"Alas! My final guests have arrived! I have been steadfastly looking forward to this moment!"

A low growl fumbled through the Daiyoukai, his pinched face efficiently surveying the area, his senses searching to locate the youki signature of the mixed breed,  
"Silence! I have no wish to hear your vile voice. I am here to collect what is mine, and to put an end to you."

The hanyou laughed, sounding truly delighted in the inu's confession,  
"Yes, I expected as much. Unfortunately, I will not relinquish the hanyou nor the mortal, unless you heed my wishes."

Sango bared her teeth, her brown eyes flashing with unconcealed anger,  
"And just what would that be, Naraku?" She spat out his name like a foul taste in her mouth.

"Why Sango, it is simple. Sesshoumaru and Kikyou will battle to the death. And the survivor will have their other released."


End file.
